Fate Overlord
by Leona-do
Summary: Shirou Emiya had been pranked many times by Zelretch. What does he do when it wasn't Zelretch fault that he ended up in a world that he didn't know, but was connected to the VRMMORPG, known as YGGDRASIL? Is he trapped within an illusion or actually in a whole different world? Only Shirou can unfold the mysteries and find the truth.
1. Hero

**Chapter One "Hero"**

"What?" Shirou blinked in surprise.

Shirou was at a loss of words. He had been expecting to find himself back in his bedroom. He had been playing the final hour of his favorite videogame, YGGDRASIL, and only videogame that he played before it would be forever shutdown. His bedroom should be the what he saw before him. Where he found himself was nowhere that shared no resemblance to his bedroom. Lush green forest. That was where he found himself. Grass and trees seemingly stretching in every direction.

Under normal circumstances, Shirou would have slowly investigated his surroundings but he seemed something that brought up many bad memories. It was the smell of something burning. Something that wouldn't cause normal people any alarm, but his sharp nose picked up a scent that was not normal. The scene of human flesh burning.

Shirou jumped up into the air. The height in which he reached was impossible for humans through natural means. At the height of ten meters it was only possible for most humans to reach his height with the aid of tools or magecraft.

He landed on a very thick tree branch. Following the direction of the smell of human flesh he found the rising smoke and burning buildings. The number of houses he saw suggested that he was looking at a village, a very small one by the count of homes. The village was a farming one from the vast open farmlands he saw surrounding the village. It was western in origin that sort that was found in Feudal Europe.

Anger swelled within him. The village had come under attack and its inhabitants were being massacred. The village had become home for a bloodbath, and it was still continuing from what he could see. He saw many corpses dotting in various conditions and concentrations around the village. As much as he hated the slaughter that was happening before his eyes, his anger paled to fury that took its place when he saw the torturing and sexual abuse occurring in his sight. At least those slaughtered did not suffer longer. Those who lived had suffering that Shirou could only imagine. They would be subjected to unbelievable amounts of physical pain and psychological trauma, and that was not counting the constant fear they had to endure at the possibilities that they could be killed if they resisted against the attackers.

"What is going on…?" Shirou muttered as he objectively pushed away his emotions and began to analyze what he saw in a cold and rational manner.

He had already accepted that he was no longer in his room. That through means unknown to him had been brought into a forest and that he was looking at a small agricultural village being attacked. What baffled him and caught his attention the most was the complete lack of modern technology. Shirou didn't see a shred of technology at all. Only things he saw were technologies expected from the medieval age and before.

 _I can think of that later,_ Shirou thought as he refocused on the battle unfolding before his very eyes. "Who are they?" Shirou wondered as he stared at the attackers.

The attackers lacked modern weaponry such as firearms and explosives. That didn't surprise him that much given what he had already seen so far. Seeing that everything he had seen made him assume that he was looking at a place and it inhabitants being near the level of the medieval age. So he looked at the attackers with a different level of expectation.

The attackers were very well equipped. Array of weapons to deal with multiple kinds of enemies. They wore protective gear that provided some level of protection to their entire bodies. It wasn't just equipment that caught Shirou's attention. Anyone with opportunity, wealth and the connections could get their hands on high quality wargear. The manner how the enemy operated caught his attention the most. The attackers were or had been professional soldiers in the past as that was the only way that Shirou could explain the high level of teamwork not just on team-level but on a company-level.

It was no surprise that the village had overwhelmed easily by the attacker. Farming tools were being used against the attackers, but to little effect. Armor protected the most obvious and easily targeted areas of the attackers. The areas where the armor was exposed or very weak were carefully guarded by the attackers as they treated the villagers as a potential threat that could kill them if not taken seriously.

Shirou didn't have to be a seer to see the fate of the village. It was clear that the village was going to be ransacked and then burned. The villagers that were either not killed would be taken as slaves. He couldn't let the pillaging and murdering continue.

As a Hero of Justice, the attackers would not achieve their objective. He had defeated EMIYA as proof that his ideals were worth dying for even if it was flawed. Shirou Emiya had ascended as a proper Heroic Spirit to become a Hero of Justice. Not living up the legend that he had forged for himself would be an insult to all his efforts and achievements. He knew what to do. It was obvious. There was a village filled with people that he should be saving.

" _Trace On._ "

\- O -

"OHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Linda Di Gelanpo screamed in horror as she ran for her life.

She alongside a company of soldiers tasked with attacking a village. It was supposed to be an easy task. Get in and slaughter majority the villagers. There had been very little risk to them as the village lacked any fortifications and had little in defense, but an ill-equipped and trained militia built of farmers and hunters. For the next hour, they had fun pillaging, raping and killing the villagers.

Now, Linda had several regrets. The first was not taking the proper precautions that was part of military protocol. She should have had several sentries posted to watch for any escaped survivors or possible enemy reinforcement. Linda quickly shook her head. She doubted that posting sentries had helped at all given what she was running from. Her second regret was participating in all the atrocities against the villagers. The death that was literally chasing after her was like karma biting back at her.

"How did this happen?!" Linda screamed as she ran for her life while remembering how it had all started.

When the first of her comrades at fallen she had thought it had been fluke as their protective equipment basically covered their entire body and left very few exposed parts. What parts that their armor didn't cover was incredibly small that only the most skilled of archers had any real change of purposely hitting their exposed flesh. The notion that it had been a fluke disappeared as several of her comrades had after all died from arrows hitting their armor's vulnerabilities.

Whoever the archer was no ordinary one. Not even the finest archers that Linda had seen or heard in her life could compared to the archer that forced her to flee. It was one thing to hit and kill someone in armor in their armor's vulnerabilities. Another thing entirely to continue to do so with rapid succession beyond a dozen times for it took an incredible amount of concentration and strain on the eyes.

Military training kicked in as she and her comrades had spread out to and searched to find the archer or archers. They found no archer within the range at least half a kilometer. It was only then it became clear that they were being shot from a range that even the most skilled archers shouldn't be able to accomplish. The search turned fruitless as not only the archer had not been located, but nearly thirty of her comrades had died before everyone decided their life was more important than to risk finding the archer.

The sword in her hand couldn't stop trembling. Her plate armor continued to create loud clanking sounds as the metal components smashed against each other as she ran for her life. She didn't care what others would have thought at the sight of her heavily armored escaping for her life. Pride didn't come before her life.

As Linda ran for her life, her mind wondered to the possible identity of the archer. Linda could think up of a comparable example of her attacker. She remembered the stories she had grown up learning up. Stories of archers that existed only in legends. Legendary archers that could shoot beyond what was considered possible to a bow and arrow. Fire arrows at speeds unheard off. Hit arrows through the smallest areas of exposed flesh.

When Linda saw a comrade that had not been more than a meter away from her get struck down by an arrow straight between the eyes, a small slit in the metal helmet, Linda was struck back into reality and remembered that she was still in possible danger and run for her life. The arrows fletching was made out black feathers. Thus, representing the very same meaning as the black crows in which the feathers came from; the arrows were associated with death and were the bringers of death in her present case.

"Run for your lives. The Black Rain of Death is coming!" Linda screamed as she ran for the direction opposite of where the arrows came from.

The Black Rain of Death, the hail of black-feathered arrows became known, slaughtering the soldiers. Arrows became their newest fears amongst the surviving soldiers. The mysterious archer was a never-ending threat that loomed over the soldiers. If they sexually abused, tortured or killed a villager then they were shot down. If they attempted to flee then they were shot down. If they remained still they were shot down. Only if the soldiers fled towards a specific location were the soldiers spared.

That was how Linda and her remaining comrades had ended up in the village square.

Although their bodies were overwhelmed with fear, none of the soldiers tried to move a step. It wasn't because they were brave, since every single one of them was paralyzed with fear. Their shivering bodies caused their armor to give off clattering sounds. After reaching the village square, any soldier that took a step found themselves dead with an arrow in tiny gaps of their armor.

Linda slightly shifted her eyes to look for help. There were two hundred some people, the villagers, and hundred or so soldiers, a third of the soldiers that assaulted the village. All the soldiers were gripped by fear. On the other hand, the villagers seemed unease with the soldiers' surroundings them but did not fear the invisible enemy that the soldiers did – probably because none of the villagers had been targeted by the unforeseen attacker.

The mysterious archer had kept Linda's comrades and she pinned down in the village square. Any who attempted to escape were killed instantaneously the moment they were outside the boundaries of the village square. No matter how fast they ran or how well armored they were, the black arrows found their mark, piercing through the smallest chinks that exposed their flesh through their armor and helmets.

"Hey, I got an idea how to get out of here. Interlock our shields together and slowly back away. Even if the archer can shoot what should be an impossible range, they are a limit in how his body and bow is capable off. All we need to do is from exposing the gaps of our armor until we reached the limit of the archer's range and we are free!"

A solid plan against most archers, even the most skilled ones, but not against the mysterious archer that was responsible for the Black Rain of Death. There were many flaws in the idea that Linda was hearing. That plan didn't consider how many assumptions they had did not match the situation at hand. What stopped Linda from correcting her comrades' idea was that she wanted to see if the plan would work out or not. If their plan worked then she would use that plan to escape the kill zone with other comrades of hers.

When her fellow soldiers began to interlock their shields, Linda felt a shiver ran down her spine. She was soon proven right when the overlapping shield wall, which was constructed within seconds, collapsed faster than it taken to construct. The soldiers who had set forth to construct the shield wall all lie died on the ground.

A shiver ran down Linda's spine. Whoever was the mysterious archer now had struck even greater fear into her heart. The game had changed. Before the black arrows had struck the tiny gaps that armor had failed to cover. The unmoving corpses of the soldiers that had constructed the shield wall had black arrows that pierced through thick shields and armor.

Soldiers took steps backwards and gasped in horror. They felt more fearful than ever before. The protective equipment that had saved them from injury and death so much in the past was now useless. Dead weight was all their armor served now. Some considered the possibility of survival if they were to strip of their armor and make a run for it as they would be more agiler.

Linda was one step ahead of her colleagues. She thought about more scenarios that increased her chances of survival. Only to come to the realistic and grim conclusion that there was no getting out of her present predicament. As she came out of grim conclusion that was when she noticed that something was making its way towards the village square.

A tall and muscular figure came walking into the village square. Spiked silver hair bounced up and down as its owner entered the village square. Steel eyes carefully looked around as if he was at the soldiers and the villagers like he was assessing everyone. The man was no ordinary man. He wore black leather armor that made him seem like he was lightly armored fighter, but the red overcoat he wore seemed to contain powerful magical enchantments of unknown purpose.

Linda took a step back when she finally managed to get a good look at the man without the sunlight shining right into her eyes.

"Is that…" A soldier blurted out in awe.

"Yea… I see the exact same." Another soldier agreed, nodding his head.

The black bow in the man's hand was longer than the height of most fully-grown men. It wasn't just the size of the bow that was amazing about it. Both the upper and lower limbs of the bow were as thick as the arms of an average person. In the place of natural fibers that would normally make bowstring was thin and sturdy cable-like wires, thick as a finger. In fact, the black bow was clearly no ordinary one, and unlike any bow the villagers or soldier had seen or heard about in their lives. It actually looked like it could fire the very munitions that were normally reserved for ballista, siege weapons that fired gigantic wooden or metal missiles to punch through fortifications.

Anyone looking at who held the massive black bow would have believed that they were daydreaming because the strength required just to carry, much less use, seemed beyond the physique of the already physically impressive man.

"Damn, don't mess around with me!" A soldier shouted in anger as he charged forward and lunged at the man.

It happened in a blur. In a heartbeat, the charging soldier fall on the ground with a black arrow pierce straight through his metal helmet.

Soldiers and villagers alike stared in fascination at the corpse of the dead soldier. For the soldiers, it quickly became apparent who was likely the mysterious archer that had dispatched so many of them from a distance that was not thought possible with a bow and arrow. Just thinking about the notion shook the soldiers to their core.

"Don't just stand there! At this range, he can't possibly get all of us. Think of our dead comrades! We must avenge them! Charge!" A soldier bellowed.

None of the soldiers required further encouragement. They became armored with the notion of revenging their comrades, people that knew as close as family. Fear dissipated. In the place of fear was courage. Without thinking about their own lives and only thinking about the bloodthirsty revenge that was welling up within them did the soldiers abandon any notion of self-preservation and charged forward in mass.

The villagers trembled in fear. That their would-be-savior' death seemed inevitable. A figure that had for a moment seemed like a glimmer of hope. A chance of defeating the soldiers. A death that would leave them without any possible chance of escaping slavery or death. When they thought about the inevitable death of their potential savior, the villagers became to weep.

"Aaaarrrrrhhhhh!" The soldiers yelled as they charged the lone archer.

When most lone archers would panic or flee when the odds were against them such as the mass charge of soldiers, the man stood still. He showed not even the slightest signs of being afraid. Instead, the man stood his ground. The massive black bow's drawstring was drawn back. A black arrow was notched. Acquired the target and fired. That was what the archer did, repeatedly, in a calm manner. He didn't show the slightest inclination that he was at all afraid or distracted by the mass of charging soldiers screaming for his blood.

Linda watched in disbelief as her fellow soldiers fell down onto the ground unmoving. Out of the eighty that had charged at the archer, thirty had already gone down before even reaching the archer in close combat. She thought that there was hope. What she saw made her begin to doubt the possibility that the man would not die.

 _What are we up against?_ Linda thought in fear.

\- O -

The first soldier to come into Shirou's reach was instantly surprised by his reaction. Shirou let go of his massive black arrow and it disappeared in motes of light. The blueprints of knives were loaded from his memories to the forefront of his mind. He called upon the knives and they answered his call. Eight knives materialized in his hands, gleaming with the sunlight they reflected. The knives than made their way towards the soldier as Shirou slashed at the soldier.

The soldier had raised his solid metal shield to no avail. Shirou's knivess made mincemeat out of the breastplate protecting the soldier. Armor might as well not existed before him as knives he used were not regular ones. They might not be Noble Phantasms, but they were still Mystic Codes. Weapons several times more powerful than any regular knife.

Shirou only saw the first soldier collapse onto the ground before he turned to parry an incoming slash from a sword. The second soldier that attacked Shirou and his colleagues stared with shocked eyes as the knives bit into the metal of the long sword. Conventional wisdom said that there was no way that a sword should lose to a knife.

Forward momentum spelled the end for the soldier's long sword. Shirou didn't need to do anything. He just simply held the knives in place. The long sword continued in its path as the blade cut itself upon the knives. The knives were that sharp and strong that ordinary steel of the long sword killed itself. The sight of knife defeating a sword caused several of the charging soldiers to snap out and reconsider about fighting.

The soldier responsible for the slash was instantly downed as Shirou slashed at the throat of his attacker.

Bloodthirst still clouded many of the minds of the soldiers who had decided to charge at Shirou. They ignored what they had seen and moved to engage Shirou.

The next minute was something that made Linda and those soldiers to reconsider fighting a sound decision. Those soldiers that had decided to fight Shirou despite everything they saw were ruthlessly and efficiently eliminated. Shirou would weave in and out of danger so narrowly that at times that it seemed that he should have been wounded or killed. His superhuman agility not just helping in surviving but also eliminating his enemies. The knives cutting through exposed flesh and armor with ease.

A minute later, Shirou was surrounded with the corpses of fifty soldiers that had charged at him and fought him in close combat.

"What… how is that possible?"

"He isn't human. Not human could fight so many well trained and equipped soldiers like they were nothing."

"Where did those knives appear from?"

"You shouldn't be worried where they appeared from! Instead, you should be worried about how sharp and strong they are!"

The dozens of soldiers that had sought out to revenge their fallen comrades through sheer number took several steps back when they realized how naïve they had been thinking about using such a tactic without thinking first. They had mistaken the lone archer's appearance as bravado or as a bluff. Now that they thought about it, any sane person wouldn't have acted that Shirou did without being perfectly sure that they could survive.

Shirou smirked as he saw several of the soldiers began to tremble and their faces turned blue as they realized their folly. While they were well trained and equipped, that was only by the standards of ordinary human soldiers. He had fought the pinnacle of humanity had to offer, legendary heroes that had transcended death. The soldiers were a simple task compared to what he had dealt with during Holy Grail Wars.

As the soldiers took several steps back in fear, the encirclement around Shirou widened.

The knives were released from his grasp. They flew and true. Each and every one of the magical knives pierced the forehead of the skull or center of the torso. Both areas were instant kills as they were the brain or the heart. Eight soldiers went down. To the unskilled eyes, all eight soldiers were hit at the same time. To Shirou the knives hit their targets with a delay of point zero one seconds, an unnoticeable amount of time for most, but to him it was time that could change the course of a fight.

"Amazing…"

"He might actually do it."

Villagers became to whisper and mutter with each other. Shirou couldn't help but continue to smirk, unlike before when he had been smirking to unnerve the soldiers he was genuinely smirking. Fear was restraint than physical ones. The villagers had the soldiers outnumbered by three times. If the villagers all decided to fight than they would surely overwhelm their captors. If whispering and muttering continued as it was then it wouldn't be soon before the villagers saved themselves.

When he turned to see the soldiers, it was evident that they were scared. So, scared that they would have even in their lives. Most the soldiers were trembling so fearfully that they were paralyzed in fear and lowered their guard. Several soldiers had collapsed onto the ground either falling on their backside or fainted.

Collectively the soldiers couldn't believe what had happened due to how unbelievable it was, no one realized if they were in a nightmare or reality. None of the soldiers would believe their eyes. The monster clad in human form had killed so many of their comrades with ease and made it seem like it had been a walk through the park. The notion that even soldiers that had trained tirelessly and had years of battle experience under their belt had been defeated so easily solidified the fear that it was meaningless to fight even with numbers against the monster before them.

"Aaaarrrhhhhhh!" A chaotic scream started to fill the air in the square. One of soldiers couldn't stand the terror, cried out desperately and tried to escape.

The encircling formation of soldiers surrounding Shirou collapsed as the soldiers' broke formation and fled. However, not a single soldier tried to flee with him. The reason for that became apparent immediately. The escaping soldiers only managed to get away by several steps before they collapsed onto the ground with a knife lodged in their skulls or chest.

"No soldier will survive if they choose to flee." Shirou said in a serious tone as he readied another batch of Swords.

\- O -

"Heeeeeehh!" Linda screamed in fear as fell onto her backside.

It was a slaughter. The worst slaughter that Linda had ever seen in her life. She had done many things in the name of the Six Gods. In fact, she had participated in several massacres in the name of the Six Gods, heretics and mutants alike, but never had she witnessed a slaughter like the one that was before her. Those slaughters had been done by teams working together, but never by one individual like the monster clad in human form before her.

Human instincts were to blame for the many deaths of the slaughter. Ingrained within all humans were the instincts to either fight or flee. Fighting had been attempted before, and it was obvious what had resulted. A bloodbath had ensured without a single scratch on the lone archer. Since fighting had failed, many of the soldiers had been instinctively guided to flee for their lives. The surviving soldiers were only alive because they had disobeyed of their instincts or were too shocked to move.

Even though their hands were holding swords, no one dared to attack at first. Not after the results of the en mass charge had failed so spectacularly. Their attacks were ineffective and trying to run away meant instant death. There was only one road left to take and that was to be toyed with until the archer decided what was to be their fate.

Although they all wore full-cover helmets that were hiding the faces underneath, but by now everyone should have realized their fate. Battle-hardened men and women started crying like children. They came to bully the weak but never in their life would they have imagined that they would suffer the same fate.

"God, please help me ..."

"God ..."

Several soldiers choking back tears could be heard to asking for god's blessing. Feeling powerless, Linda almost knelt down as well in order to start cursing or beg for a godly intervention. While the soldiers realized their impending fate started to pray, their prayers were suddenly interrupted by a piercing screech.

"You, you guys, hurry up and block that monster!"

Linda watched everything with a distressed look and started to frown. Because every soldier were wearing full-cover helmets it was impossible to see their faces and with their voice out of tune due of fear it was hard to determine who issued this order. But with this kind of attitude, only one person could be responsible.

 _…...Captain Belius._ Linda' expression twisted.

"I can't just die here, people! You will go and buy me some time! Become a shield to protect me!"

No one took action. Although he was captain in name, he wasn't respected. Who would sacrifice their live for such a selfish and greedy man? Only the archer showed any form of reaction to his loud shouting. While the soldiers were still gripped by hopelessness, they also had deep sense of loathing at their so-called "Captain".

"What do you offer to compensate for the crimes that you have committed against this village?" The human monster asked, curiously.

Captain Belius jumped in fright when he found the human monster right beside him without him noticing. While the human relaxingly held his hands free of the knives that had brought so much death, Belius did not doubt for a second that it could materialize and throw knife before he could even have the slightest chance of wounding the monster, not after what several soldiers working in tandem had failed. When he met his gaze, he got the feeling that he was looking at an investigator, judge and executioner rolled into one person.

"Money, I'll give money. Two hundred gold coins! No, five hundred gold coins!" Captain Belius shouted to both his soldiers and the man before him.

Money had never stopped to work for Belius. He had bribed his way out of trouble and he was sure that he could do the same with the man before him. Another message he meant at the same time with his offer for money was also at his soldiers. The money he promised was worth a small fortune. More than enough money to live in luxury for several years. What Belius had failed to understand was at moment it was just like asking his soldiers to jump from a 500 meters cliff and only if they were able to survive would they be given the reward.

While no one took action, only one person moved.

"What...!" Belius shouted as felt an immense amount of pain from his chest. "Let, let me go! I am begging you! I will do anything you ask!"

The nearby soldiers and villagers who saw what happened couldn't stop their bodies from becoming stiff with horror.

Belius continued to beg as his hands grasped the foreign object in his torso, where his heart should be. The monster ignored his words. Just watched in eerie silence as Belius failed to realize that his death was inevitable even when and continued to beg for his life.

"Aaargh– I, I'll give you money, let, let me…"

Belius' body continued to function for several more seconds before it finally drew his last breath.

"No…. No… No."

"God!"

Belius' shocked soldiers wailed in anguish. They had seen someone that was a monster clad in human form. They were seeing a monster. A monster of three different disciplines of combat: bow, blade and magic. A human monster that was a legendary archer, warrior and magician.

Their fate was out of their control. To run would mean to lose one's life, but to stay would mean a fate of death just the same. They had committed similar crimes to Captain Belius. It was obvious what they had done when it was common sense what would befall on a village when it was raided and plundered. The choice they had was to die on their own free will or have it decided by another. Although they were well aware of the notion, they had no idea what to do. A death was the same no matter who someone died. It was only a measure of how much pain before they died. Thus, their bodies were unable to move a single step.

"Calm down!" Linda roared to her fellow comrades. Linda' roar echoed from the wails. The area became silent, as if time had stopped. "Retreat! Hurry and send the signal to the soldiers that are not here! While the horn is blown, the remaining people here try to buy some time for the others to escape! I for one will rather die knowing that I managed to save my comrade, get moving!"

Everyone sprang into action. Gone was the bewilderment from before, every soldier worked as one and moved with the momentum of a splashing waterfall. Mechanically following orders, they stopped thinking. Their training kicked in to obey the commands of their superior, and it was hard to ignore the commands when they were shouted with so much conviction and charisma. They were going to make a miracle happen or die trying. The chaotic actions from before would not happen a second time. All the soldiers knew what they had to do. They needed to protect the one in charge of blowing the horn, in order to contact the other soldiers to retreat.

A retreating soldier put down his sword and took out a horn from his bag.

"Like I would let you run away from the crimes that you have committed against this village!" The monster screamed as he materialized a sword and threw.

The soldier with the horn could only watch as horror as the horn that he had been moments away from blowing broke in his very hands. The precious signal that would alert his comrades were patrolling the perimeter of the village to retreat and could save his comrades' lives was dashed with the destruction of the horn.

A whirlwind of death formed in the village square. Swords gleamed in the air as they flew everywhere. The monster spun around. A hail of sword resulted. Anyone that saw the never-ending flood of swords flying in the air would assume that the thrower had sacrificed accuracy for the rate of swords thrown. That was not the case. Each and every resulted in instant death. The heart or the brain was targeted. The whirlwind of death was both pinpoint accurate and lightning fast.

The soldiers knew that standing still in the open meant instant death. However, even as they knew that moving would make little difference to a monster that could fire an arrow at a moving target from a distance that should be impossible with a bow and the same logic applied with the thrown swords. Still, every soldier continued to run because they hoped the very short time span it took for the monster to track and throw would buy their comrades the precious seconds longer to live.

Some soldiers stayed behind to buy their retreating comrades time by advancing at the lone archer with a defensive wall. They knew that creating an interlocking shield wall would do little prevent the human monster from hitting the smallest chinks in their formation, but they overlapped their shields over the other or underneath to increase the thickness of their shields to at least slow down the armor-piercing swords for a comrade to have increased chance of survival.

Sword after sword, soldiers collapsed as throwing swords hit their mark. In a blink of an eye, several soldier died.

"Ditz! Morite! It's your time to strike. If you don't, take that cursed monster down then it is going to kill all of us at this rate!"

The soldiers who were singled out hurried charged to kill the invincible enemy. Swords continued to fly as the shield wall continued to close in around the lone monster and those who were brave enough rushed forward in an attempt to silence the rain of throwing swords.

In a flash four soldiers had died. Although Linda felt fear, she took her sword and stood before the black whirlwind, ready to heroically sacrifice herself like a martyr.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Even if there was no chance of winning, Linda did not intend to sit still and, shouting a battle cry, used all her strength as she sprinted forwards and swung her sword towards the lone archer.

Maybe it was because it was her final chance, but Linda broke her own limits and released a strength that surprised even herself, this might've been the best slash she ever did in her whole life.

The monster turned around to deliver a sword right in the middle of Linda's eyes.

After a flash, Linda' eyes spun around to see her sword tumble onto the ground. Her eyes began to close as she lost consciousness. Before the darkness took her, Linda heard the sound of several horns being blown.

 _At least, I got some of my comrades out of here alive._

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	2. Royal Guard Captain

**Chapter Two "Royal Guard Captain"**

Shirou Emiya observed the horse riders from the top of the tallest building that Carne Village had. From his vintage point, he could easily see up to three kilometers. He could see up to twenty kilometers with the leisurely use of magic.

"These soldiers are equipped even better than the soldiers disguised as bandits that attacked Carne Village yesterday," Shirou mused when he saw the equipment of the incoming horse riders.

The soldiers disguising themselves as bandits from yesterday had been head and shoulder above the ordinary professional soldier. They were elites. These soldiers he was looking at were at a level higher than the bandits. These were battle-hardened veterans with years of soldiering under their belt. Not only was it reflected in their equipment, but their strict discipline show through their uniform and never-changing military formation.

He observed the horse riders like a hawk, but Shirou never found any suggestion that they meant any harm. His instincts seemed to agree with his, but he continued to watch in case his assumption was proven wrong. Even when they were within a hundred meters, the incoming group showed no signs of hostility and carefully entered the village, and into the village square, where Shirou was.

Although they were wary of him, they were still more or less able to neatly arrange themselves below Shirou. From within their ranks, a single man emerged and dismounted.

The man that had dismounted looked like the leader as the horse riders seemed to defer to him, and he had an air of authority that came only through natural talent or experience. He was a rugged looking man, no doubt a warrior that was highly adept in physical combat from his tall and muscular build. Not just a commander, but he was also a highly accomplished fighter. A level completely different from the soldiers he commanded. His equipment also showed a similar difference as his soldiers wore equipment made out of enchanted steel and leather while he wore leather made out of magical beasts and adamantium.

He slowly surveyed his surroundings, looking Shirou. He looked around for quite some time. But upon realizing that the other party remained motionless, he suddenly pierced Shirou with his sharp eyes. Even while being he was stared at with such fierce eyes, Shirou remained calm and unmoving. The kind of pressure that the man before his was nothing compared to the countless gazes of even more scarier and stronger foes that Shirou had endured.

"I am the Royal Guard Captain of the Kingdom of Re-Estize, Gazef Strolonoff. Under orders from the king, I have come with a punitive force to fight against the knights of the Empire and have been patrolling around various villages." His deep, smooth voice resounded in the square.

"That is very strange… why would the captain of the Royal Guard be here in Carne Village? The Royal Guard had only one duty and that was to ensure the safety of royalty. Very strange…" Shirou muttered in bafflement.

Shirou found the situation baffling. The Captain of the Royal Guards was normally expected close by of the royalty that they were supposed to protect. It made no sense for Gazef to leave the royal family that he was supposed to guard. Unless…

"Captain, please excuse me for being blunt, but why would you the Captain of the Royal Guards leave your charge unprotected? That seems suspicions to me."

The horse riders took offense in Shirou's words and were about show his what they had in their minds when Gazef gestured to his soldiers to remain silent.

"I understand your skepticism. The king spent me for two reasons. The first reason is that he knows very well that commoners despise nobility and royalty. He wanted someone that you, commoners, would trust because I am a commoner myself. The second reason was because he wanted to show how serious he was in protecting his subjects by sending me."

He nodded his head in understanding. While he had been assuming the very same reasons that was completely different from knowing if it was factual. The serious look that Gazef was giving him told Shirou that he was telling the truth.

"Well…" Shirou trailed off as he thought of what to say. "Unfortunately, you were a day late. These knights you were talking of have already raided of this village, but we were able to drive them off. Though it came with a heavy price as you can still see signs of the battle that we were unable to erase yet."

The horse riders seemed impressed by what they were being told and began to survey the rest of the village with amazed look.

"I hate to be rude, but I must ask where are the villagers? I see no one save for yourself." Gazef asked in wary tone. He saw Shirou not respond to his questions, but decided to take another route. "Can we find somewhere to sit together, and would it be possible for you to recount the details of this raid? If you don't mind, the hour grows late, and I wish to rest inside the village…"

"I understand. Then shall we proceed to my home?" Shirou answered as he pointed towards the small house that the villagers had graciously provided him for saving them, and he just jumped up from his vintage point.

Most people would have been frightened at the sight of a man jumping down to land several meters down onto the ground. A drop that would've easily broken bones. That was how the horse riders felt like when they saw Shirou jump down from the roof of the building. They frantically rushed in an attempt to catch him. Several of the horse riders continued to sprint at their fastest, but soon stopped in their tracks when they saw the height in which it would be impossible to catch him. Some of the horse riders fall onto their knees and began to lament at their inability to stop Shirou fall.

Shirou landed with a muted thud. He smirked as he saw the looks of disbelief and amazement that the horse riders held when they saw the individual that they had thought they had failed to save land on the ground with not as much as a scratch. A normal man would've broken every bone in their lower body from the drop, but Shirou wasn't normal but any definition.

 _Who is this man? He is too calm, despite having a large group of soldiers before him. That drop off the top of the roof could've killed him, and he showed not the slightest fear of death nor injury._ Gazef wondered. "Who are you?"

"Shirou Emiya. Hero of this village." Shirou replied as he bowed dramatically. "Please follow me, and I will answer all your questions." Shirou said as he began walking towards his home.

The horse riders were about to demand that Shirou answer their commander when Gazef silenced them with a gesture to remain quiet.

"Rest. We may have to leave in a hurry later. The Empire's knights could be raiding another village as we speak. I need to talk to the man to get some information. We will move when I am finished." Gazef spoke in authoritarian voice.

"Of course, sir!" Gazef's troops shouted.

"Now what could this Shirou Emiya tell me." Gazef wondered as he followed Shirou.

\- O -

"Thou shalt devote thine faith to God." A calm, quiet voice began to recite a prayer from a holy book.

Everyone prayed. It was a simplified prayer to their god. A solemn reminder for what they fought for. Who and what they were. Executors and protectors of their religion. They remembered that what they did, no matter how bad, was not for selfish reasons of their own, but for the greater good. Their staunch and profound belief their god was the reason why they gave everything for the Slane Theocracy, and to Six Gods. That was the reason they were able to carry out callous acts without feeling sinful. After the prayer ended, everyone's eyes became as cold as ice.

The captain of the Sunlight Scripture, Nigan Goodrich Luin sighed in soft exhale As he watched the men around him. He saw the looks that were all too familiar to him. They were all in their battle state. Physically and mentally prepared to do whatever was necessary to ensure the success of the mission. With the success of his task within his grasp, Nigan felt at ease in his heart.

"Next time… I should ask the other teams for help and push the responsibility onto them." Nigan complained to himself.

"That's right, our expertise is extermination after all, not assassinations of powerful individuals."

"Well this might be a good training exercise for us. If we can work together to bring down someone of Gazef Strolonoff's caliber than we can easily take down even the strongest demi-humans and non-humans alive."

Nigan considered his current assignment as a waste of resources and time. Humanity was greatly disadvantaged when compared to the other races such as demi-human and non-human races. Many races had greater physical capabilities than humans from strength, speed, agility, resilience and senses to physical traits such as long life, immortality and regenerations that humans didn't possess. Gazef Strolonoff was a rare example where a human broke through the innate advantages that the other races possessed and a powerful asset in the protection of humanity. Eliminating Gazef was not a wise decision, but he had his orders.

"... Do we have the ability to get rid of him?"

Nigan didn't laugh at his subordinate's anxiety. The target was the Royal Guard Captain of the Kingdom, Gazef Strolonoff. One of the most powerful humans alive in the present. He was figure that was just below the standards that were held for legendary heroes that were went down in history. Alone, he was worth the strength of a battalion of ordinary human soldiers. A challenging mission assignment that was greater than any of he and his company of soldiers had ever tried. This would be their greatest challenge.

"There won't be any problems. Right now, he is far from any reinforcements. Without those reinforcements, killing him should take no effort at all… No, if it wasn't for this great opportunity, there would be no way to defeat him."

His subordinates nodded his head. The Sunlight Scripture had collected information on Gazef's every strength and weakness for years. They were not ordinary soldiers, but hardened battle veterans. Only the finest human soldiers were able to join the Sunlight Scripture. Gazef strength's could be countered through teamwork, and with teamwork exploit his weaknesses.

"Commence."

\- O -

Shirou and Gazef had nearly managed to make it Shirou's home when a horseman hastily galloped to them on horseback. Panting heavily, he had saluted to Gazef.

"Captain! There is a lot of dust kicking up in the distance. What do you want us to do?!"

"Tell the rest of the troops to get immediately ready." Gazef ordered.

The horseman saluted and traveled by horseback to relay to his comrades. While the brief exchange happened between Gazef and the horseman, Shirou didn't remain idle. The moment he heard the mentioning of dust, he jumped into the air and landed to the nearest rooftop.

"That is an impressive number of mages." Shirou muttered as he observed from the dust that was being kicked up near the perimeter of Carne Village.

"Mages? What makes you say that it is mages?" Gazef asked curiously.

"The movement of the dust is unnatural. It is too controlled. While dust storms aren't too common here, they are rather tame compared to the amount of dust kicked elsewhere like in an arid landscape. There is too much dust being kicked up into the air for it to be natural. We live in farmlands surrounded by forests. Not a desert. Also, if it had been created through artificial means without the aid of magic like mass cavalry than no matter how skilled they are in creating a dust storm, I should be able to see even one with my exceptional eyesight." Shirou explained. "Gazef-san, you are dealing with mages or priests, about a company strong."

Most people would be wondering how did Shirou know all that information, and why he was so sure about his statement. Shirou had encountered such a tactic repeated countless times. He had been both on the sides involving the use of dust storms for offensive capabilities and defending from such tactic. It would be foolish to say that he was only depending on experience alone. He also used other methods of to confirm his statement.

Smell. His nose, which was his natural form of sensory magical detection, picked up several scents. Scents that described what sort of magic that mage used. Shirou picked up the smell of incense, normally associated with magic that had tied with religions. Shirou counted about a company strong with the number of magical scents he could detect. That was the information that he was able to gather through nose alone.

Just to eliminate the possibility of deception, Shirou also used a very neat trick he had picked up. He temporary altered his vision to adopt the same abilities of that of an infrared camera. No matter how well the mages would weave magic to fool his eyes, they couldn't prepare foil his altered sight if they didn't even know about the concept of thermal imaging. The mages lit up ever more brighter than the average human because in their use of magic, their Magic Circuits was producing more body heat than normal humans as a byproduct of their use of magic.

Gazef didn't debate the information that was being provided to him. He didn't doubt the man for a second. His instincts told him that he was being truthful. The way he carried himself and spoke showed that the man was unlikely to be lying. Instead, he focused on gathering information for the upcoming battle. The Royal Guard Captain needed every scrap of information before the upcoming battle. Every small about of information he could gather meant an increased chance of survival of his soldiers and himself, ultimately victory.

"What else do you see?" Gazef asked after relaying the information that Shirou had provided to him.

Shirou in his natural state had the exceptional vision that surpassed most people, but the aid of magic he could transform his eyes into organic telescopes. She enhanced his eyesight to discern anything he could about the approaching group. Subtle budges in their clothing suggested objects like potions and hidden magical tools. The various weapons they held in their hand did not look anything noteworthy, but Shirou could see thanks to the passive abilities of Unlimited Blade Works that were well crafted and made from fine materials.

"You are facing elite mages. From their behavior and equipment, they are all superior to your troops, and inferior to yourself."

Gazef raised a brow, but otherwise didn't ask how he had managed to get such information. He did look at Shirou with a curious look that prompted his to speak whatever else he had been able to gather.

"The mages are not alone. They have some sort creature backing them up. They look like armored angels."

"Are you sure?" Gazef asked as he began to archive the information that had been provided to him and think up of ways to best utilize them.

"I bet my life."

The Royal Guard Captain remained silent.

Angels. Angels were Magical Beings summoned from another realm and many people believed that they were God's envoys, especially the people of the Slane Theocracy. Although there was no way to prove whether or not Angels were envoys of God, the Kingdom still claimed these Angels were merely Magical Beings. And even though the debate regarding Angels was one of the biggest reasons for conflict between the Kingdom and the Theocracy, Gazef didn't really care whether Angels were envoys of gods or not; all he cared about was their combat prowess. To Gazef's knowledge, Angels were stronger in comparison to other Magical Beings summoned with the same tier of magic. They had special abilities and could even use magic themselves. All in all, he considered them to be troublesome opponents.

Gazef, who was analyzing the thorny situation, forcibly relaxed his shoulder muscles. Although he appeared calm and collected on the surface, in his heart he felt very anxious and wrathful. The odds were stack against him. His troops numbered as few two platoons. He had on purposely kept the number of troops with him to a minimum. The reason was simple. More people meant it took more time to travel. A larger group also meant being more easily detected. The bandits that he had been dispatched to deal with might escape if they were able to see him coming before he could deal with them. The two platoon of soldiers that he had chosen to accompany were not just any regular soldiers. All of his troops were handpicked for their ability and experience. Those who had accompanied him were the best of best.

He had confidence in his soldiers, but he had to look at the reality of the situation. His platoon soldiers had the ability to defeat ten normal soldiers on their own, but that convention held against poorly equipped conscripts and poorly trained soldiers. Not against elite mages. He had only five mages amongst his troops. Three of them battle mages and two of them healers. He also had a few archers amongst his troops, but a bulk of his troops were armed with melee weapons. Not only was the enemy had the range advantage, but also numbers.

"Is that a Holy Angel? It looks like one, but... why would a such a similar looking magical being appear... Is it because of a summoning spell? And if that's the case...?"

Gazef shifted his gaze toward the muttering Shirou and inquired with a sliver of hope.

"Emiya-san, you seem to know more about the angels than I do myself. Is there any information that you could provide?"

There was no response, but Gazef could perceive Shirou's general mood.

"For whatever aid you provide, I can guarantee you a reward. I promise you on my honor as the Royal Guard Captain that I will speak on your behalf to the King personally that you are rewarded."

"… I cannot speak for the villagers. I am not one of them." Shirou replied. "I also cannot provide more information. They could turn out to be false. I don't want to provide you with the wrong information, leading you to believe in assumptions that could lead to the deaths of your troops and yourself."

"I sense a but…" Gazef asked.

"I can provide some level of support."

"What kind of support would that be?"

"Don't be alarmed," said Shirou as he walked towards Gazef and pressed his hand on the shoulder of the warrior.

Gazef Stronoff's head jerked back in surprise. The man let out an alarmed grunt when his eyes and ears began to hurt. He immediately closed his eyes and tried to plug his earsIt wasn't just his sight or hearing that seemed to feel significantly different. His body felt lighter and invigorated. His surprise didn't last too long as his body began to slowly adjust and he recovered his composure.

"My sight and hearing are sharper. My body feels lighter and I have boundless energy. Are you responsible for that?" Gazef asked.

"I have sharpened your senses and increased your physical capabilities." Shirou replied. "This is all the support I can provide for now. I have nearly two hundred villagers that I need to escort to safety from the mages."

"The villagers come first before myself and my troops. We swore an oath to protect the citizens of the Re-estize Kingdom," Gazef agreed. "My troops and I will be grateful if you can do what you did to me."

"Gather your men then. I will buff their stats."

\- O -

The horse's excitement reverberated from its trotting hooves. Generations after generations of breeding and a lifetime of training had forged them into a living weapon of war. It was within their blood and sole purpose in life to carry their rider to battle. They were about to enter the fray of battle and prove their purpose.

The riders shared a different sentiment. While they too were soldiers that had trained to become their sword and shield of their kingdom, they were not without fear. Unlike the warhorses that knew only one existence and that was to fight, the riders were human beings. They knew life outside of battle. Despite the fear of deaths they had, it was not surpassed by their urge of vengeance and righteous fury. The enemy that they were about to fight was ones that would choose to slaughter their fellow citizens of the Re-Estize Kingdom. As the sword and shield of their people, they would stop whoever sought to kill innocent and harmless farmers.

"We need to break through the encirclement around this village. Our only goal is to bait the mages away from Carne Village. After that, we shall fight the mages without having to worry about the safety of the villagers, who are safe from the crossfire." Gazef shouted to his troops.

Upon hearing the fierce replies behind him, Gazef furrowed his brows. How many of them will survive the battle? Even if he decided to jump into danger, these men would still follow him willingly. Gazef wanted to apologize to his subordinates for dragging them into this, but after turning his head and looking at their faces, he swallowed his words. The expression of the soldiers behind him showed that they were ready to follow Gazef to hell under any circumstances. His subordinates knew very well what dangers lay ahead.

"Don't worry about it, Captain!"

"Yeah, we came here by our own volition. We swore to fight alongside Captain!"

"Let us protect our country, both the people and our comrades!"

There was nothing left to say.

"Charge! Tear them into pieces!" Gazef roared.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh!" His troops roared in response.

Gazef spurred his horse forward, his subordinates following his example. The speed of the warhorses left indents on the hard ground and created the booming of thunder in the background. The roars of the riders banished their emotions and made them thought of only bringing destruction down upon the enemy.

The mounted Gazef picked up his bow and nocked an arrow. Hours upon hours of archery practice on horseback yielded the steady aim that allowed him to level his bow towards his intended target despite fact that he was firing an arrow on the unsteady and ever moving back of a horse.

He released the arrow and it failed to hit Gazef's intended target, the head of a mage, because an armored angel intercepted the arrow, the blocked projectile glancing off the breastplate of the armored angel.

"Pah! Futile as expected." Gazef said in disappointment.

Just like signaling the start of the battle, the enemy mages began started retaliating with magic to Gazef's shot.

Suddenly, his steed neighed loudly. Seizing the reins, Gazef leaned back and brought his body close to the saddle as possible. Gazef coiled up the muscles of his leg. He looked up then jumped off his horse.

His body was launched into the air and Gazef unsheathed his sword from his hip. The sword sailed through the air and bite into a sword that had been on its path to cut the mid-air Gazef. Adamantium forged metal bit through the Holy Angel's magic sword. Tempered and hardened adamantium struggled against the magically enhanced metal until the adamantium won, cutting clean through the magical metal.

The sword strike of the Kingdom's strongest swordsman had enough power cleave a man apart with one strike. However, the Holy Angel didn't die even though it suffered heavy damage from the hit. Blood sprayed into the air, but it continued to stand.

"For the Kingdom!" Gazef roared as he landed onto the ground and charged forward.

Gazef glared at the angel, who escaped with a piercing gaze. Even though the opponent was severely injured, it was still full of fighting spirit, trying to find a gap in Gazef's defences. Noticing an opportunity, the Angel brandished his flame-red sword.

"Too late." Gazef whispered.

His blade started to shimmer with light. In the eyes of the Kingdom's Royal Guard Captain, the Angel's movements were too slow. Gazef's sword moved. This attack was a lot more powerful than the blow before, so Gazef'his sword cut easily through the Angel's body, armor and flesh with ease.

Suffering devastating damage, the body of the Angel slowly melted into the air as motes of light and disappeared. Shining brightly, the wings scattered and disappeared, creating a fascinating dream-like scene. If not for the desperate blood-filled situation, Gazef would have definitely admired it. But right now he was not in that kind of carefree mood.

A wry smile formed. None of his troops had fallen. It was no surprise. His soldiers were veterans. They had years of experience and had been handpicked by him for their ability. Each one of them were able to take down a squad of soldiers by themselves. Working together they strengths grew by several fold. He saw several of them taking down angels without any causalities.

The wiry smile transformed into a grim one. Gazef saw it. The once ninety or so angels had been reduced to less than half in a matter of seconds under the teamwork of Gazef's troops. So quickly that Gazef had been sure for a moment that the battle was going to end in their victory. That was until the angels received reinforcements.

"...Damn it." Gazef cursed.

The mages that his forces were dealing with were not ordinary ones. Summoning such a powerful summon such as an angel was no easy task. Most mages would be exhausted from summoning an angel. Elite mages might be able to do it while being winded somewhat, but the mages that Gazef saw didn't show even a sweat from doing such a thing. That meant even amongst elite mages, they were very powerful. Dozens of very powerful elite mages.

"I should be thankful to Emiya-san for helping us out by what he called by 'buffing.' If it wasn't for that then several of my soldiers would have been hurt already…" Gazef mused as he sighed in relief for even the smallest advantages.

Gazef calmly counted the number of enemies around him. Shirou Emiya had told him that the enemy consisted or seventy or so mages. The number of mages that were constantly summoning angels to replenish the angels killed by his troops confirmed that most, if not all, the mages that had previously encircled the village were now fighting his troops. With that the encirclement around the village should be gone.

"I hope everyone got out of the encirclement safely…" Gazef said in satisficed tone, having been able to save the lives of the villagers.

A smirk grew when the screams came from the enemy mages, who were no longer summoning angels and fighting for their lives. The sound of galloping horses confirmed that his plan had worked. Gazef turned to see that reserve of his soldiers that he had held back were finally acting as planned. They had managed to flank the enemy mages and catch them with the element of surprise.

"Form up on me!" Gazef roared.

Those who did not regroup at Gazef's position took up various roles. Many of the soldiers armed with close range weapons took up the role of the rearguard to protect the flank of their charging comrades and to distract the angels. The three battlemages and archers provided covering fire. The healers tended to the wounded.

"Charge!" Gazef roared as he sprinted towards the enemy with his troops that formed up on his position following his lead.

Wave after wave of magic shot them. Some of Gazef's soldiers were picked off from a distance, but a majority of them were charging were unscathed or received a wound that only slowed them down. Only three of Gazef's troops went down and it had been a result of a disabling wound, not death that stopped him.

 _I need to thank Shirou Emiya_ _if I survive this._ Gazef thought as was within the last stretch of distance before coming into weapon's reach of the mages.

The slaughter of the enemy mages seemed inevitable until a large chunk of the charging soldiers simply froze in place or collapsed. Gazef saw from the corner of his eyes when his surroundings lit up with a myriad of lights. He didn't doubt that those froze up or collapsed were due to magic. His experience against mages told him that his troops that were not functioning normally a victim of some sort of magic that wrought paralysis. Those who were unaffected like him continued to charge only to smash into an invisible barrier.

Having halted the charge, the enemy mages surrounded Gazef and his troops. When they were in position, magic rained down upon them.

Gazef couldn't bear watching their inevitable demise. He hardened his heart as he heard the screaming of his soldiers and cast his sight straight ahead.

His target was the enemy commander. A mage that he had seen giving orders to the enemy mages. Gazef wouldn't have known who had been the enemy commander had he not careful observed who had been handing out the orders as the enemy commander was indistinguishable from the rest of the enemy mages in their black robes.

More than thirty Angels blocked Gazef's charge. He wasn't happy seeing his opponent strengthening their defense. His calm demeanor broke as anger flooded every fiber of his being. He would save the troops he could and avenge those he couldn't.

"Out of the way!" Gazef roared, furiously. " _Sixfold Slash of Light._ "

Gazef created rapid flashes. With one move he hit six enemies. Nothing was able to stop the hit. It happened simply too quickly. Even if anyone of the six enemies had been able to intercept the attacks, the momentum behind Gazef's adamantium blade would ensure nothing would stop it. Those hit were cleaved into halves, which became dissipating balls of light.

The rest of the angels gasped in of surprise, several of the enemy mages even began to fear for their lives. Those of Gazef's troops who could move their mouth cheered.

The angels were able to recover from their surprise and set forth to eliminate Gazef.

One of them swung at Gazef with a red flaming sword. Just when the angel was about to hit him with its sword, Gazef dodged and disappeared with a blur. Before the angel even had the chance to swing its sword, it already suffered Gazef's sword strike. The transformed the angel into a ball of light.

Gazef's attack did not end there.

"Aaaaarrrrrrrrrhhhhhhh!" Gazef roared defiantly.

All the angels moved together in unison. Some went to melee and others supported from a distance. They worked flawlessly. Most foes would be overwhelmed by such teamwork, but Gazef was no ordinary foe.

Gazef was like water. Strikes and shots that were armed at him either glanced off his adamantium armor or parried away with his adamantium blade. He moved in a blur. Devastation like lightning was left in his wake as he took several angels. Sometimes he took several down with a single blow.

Like a miraculous scene, Gazef's stubborn resistance creates a trace of hope of winning for his soldiers. Those who had been paralyzed or frozen into place suddenly found the will to break through the magic that had been cast over their body. Gazef's troops roared triumphantly at defeating the magic that had bound them and charged at the mages.

The moment Gazef's troops had fallen victim to magic and had been surrounded was when the enemy mages had dropped their guard. Instead, assured that they could kill their defenceless victims anytime, they had instead decided to observe the spectacular death that would have come from Gazef fighting against thirty angels. When they suddenly saw Gazef's troops breaking the magic that had bound them and charged at them was when they realized their folly.

"How exciting. Just as I thought, Gazef Strlonoff. You do indeed live up to your name as the Kingdom's strongest swordsman. It's a shame that we must slay a powerful human such as yourself, but orders are orders… Let's end this."

It was like the enemy mages had cast an illusion for Gazef's troops to look at. The enemy mages that had moments ago seemed of panicking disappeared like a mist. In their place were veteran mages that were able to compose their emotions within heartbeats. The shouting of their commander triggered the sudden change that Gazef's troops were unprepared for.

"Not looking good." Gazef muttered in a worried tone as he finished the last of the angels.

The valiantly charge that his soldiers had been leading seemed to disperse. Their charging continued but filled with anxiety and fear. The change in their emotions was further accelerated when they saw their fellow comrades fall down as they were hit by magic.

"Summon more angels to replace the ones that have been slain! Let none of the Kingdom's soldiers live to tell this story. That Gazef Stronoff was slain, but no one would know what truly happened to him besides his killers!"

More angels were summoned to replenish the angels that had been defeated by Gazef or his troops. For every bright materialization of an angel, more fear was stuck into the hearts of Gazef's troops. It was only when the summoning ceased did Gazef's troops continued fighting because they knew that if they gave off then there was only death awaiting them. Still there were some that simply gave up and collapsed onto the knees, allowing the mages or angels to easily finish them off.

Gazef paid no attention to more angels appearing than beside keep track of his surroundings. There was no point being scared by the arrival of further angels. He could only think about fighting to survive. It was to fight or die. There was no time to think and feel.

In an effort to rally his troops morale, Gazef began raining down a flurry of attacks.

" _Six Fold Slash of Light. Six Fold Slash of Light! Six Fold Slash of Light! Six Fold Slash of Light!_ " Gazef roared releasing his most powerful attack one after another.

He slaughter the angels faster than they could be resummoned by the mages, and even went onto the offensive to strike down several mages in an attempt to reduce the number of angels that could be brought back.

"Cease fire!"

"What?" Gazef muttered in confusion as he saw the enemy commander order his troops to stop attacking.

Relief spread to the precious few of Gazef's troops that remained. It felt like a gigantic burden had been released from them. Even if they got to live for a second more, it felt so refreshing and relieving at the fact they were still alive. Being alive felt like the greatest experience in that moment.

"Doesn't matter how many of you come! Your angels are no big deal!" Gazef roared in a taunting tone.

Angels and mages took offense at Gazef's words and were about to slay him, despite the cease-fire order of their commander.

"Don't mind him! He is angry for all of his dead comrades."

Gazef glared at the man with the scar on his face. If he could just kill that commander, it would be possible to reverse the situation. There were several problems were he couldn't just charge in and slay the enemy commander. The first thing was that he was the only thing separating the deaths of the last of his troops. If he decided to take down the enemy commander than the last of his troops would be sentenced to death.

He contemplated the notion of sacrificing his soldiers. Even if he continued to prevent the angels and the mages from slaying the last of his soldiers, eventually he would become exhausted and the only one stopping the deaths of his troops would go down with them, fallen victim to exhaustion. Simply defending his troops would only delay the inevitable. As a commander, he had made hard choices to sacrifice his soldiers to achieve victory

He had done it in the past and he could do it again, but with a guilty consciousness.

"What does the Slane Theocracy have anything to do with raiding the border villages of the Re-Estize Kingdom? My country has done nothing to offend the Slane Theocracy in recent times!" Gazef shouted, prodding for information.

"It is true that the Re-Estize Kingdom has done nothing to offend my country, but my given task to slay you was due to politics."

"Bloody nobles." Gazef cursed.

"Indeed, it because of the nobility of your country that hates you for your status as a commoner that they have paid handsomely for your deposal."

He made his choice. His current situation was beyond just him. It was about what he embodied. The country he served, the Re-Estize Kingdom, were a feudal nation with those with titles with the most power. He was powerful symbol as the only commoner to ever reach the outstanding position as Captain of the Royal Guards, a position that was normally reserved only for nobility and having the personal connection to royalty, that he represented the symbol of commoners being able to gain power for themselves. If he died than commoners of Re-Estize Kingdom would lose their hero and have their future dreams of gaining power become dashed.

He, Gazef Stronoff, couldn't die, not in the current battle. With a solemn heart, he made the decision. Sharp eyes looked at his only target, Gazef began to sprint.

The gasps of horror soon were silenced as the angels and mages rained death on the last of Gazef's troops.

Gazef hardened his heart and ignored the deaths of the last of his troops. He focused on his immediate surroundings as angels continuously thrust and slashed with their magical weapons at him. Dodge or parry and counter. Dodge or parry. Counter. That was all that went on as he continued his charge at the enemy commander as he left a wave of slaughter in his wake.

The slaughter of angels that had chosen to engage Gazef in melee combat in an attempt to stop him quickly came to a halt when he suddenly felt something ram into his stomach. He stopped and turned. His eyes tracked the direction where he had been hit and he saw a mage had been involved.

He gasped in surprise when he felt another blow to his stomach. Gazef didn't doubt for a moment that the second blow would have been equivalent to sword being thrust into his abdomen had it not been for his adamantium armor. When he looked down to inspect his armor, he found only the slightest indent.

 _I didn't see anything hitting me, so it must be some sort of hard-to-detect or invisible attack._ Gazef hypothesized.

Even if it was an invisible attack, Gazef could deal with them. He had reached the stage where he could deal with dozens of projectiles flying towards him by either dodging or blocking. As long as the invisible magic spells casted at him didn't number in the hundreds, Gazef was confident that he could react and dodge.

"A-hak!" Gazef muttered as he began to cough up blood.

Gazef's throat couldn't stand the taste of blood, causing him to spit out a mouthful of it.

The taste of iron coming from his throat made Gazef cough out a mouthful of blood. He swore for cursing himself. He wasn't dealing with ordinary mages, but elite ones. There was also the fact that he was dealing more than seventy so mages. If each one was able to fire even a dozen invisible magic spells each than that would easily make up a total of invisible magic attacks in the hundreds.

In an instant, he had been overwhelmed with invisible magic attacks from all directions. A flood from every direction had been basically what had struck him. There had been no way he could have dodged or blocked the magic attacks.

The manner in which he was struck wasn't what unsettled Gazef. It was how quickly he had been struck without being able to react after falling victim to two invisible magic attacks prior. He had to be extra cautious to prevent further attacks.

He grimaced when he inspected his wounds through the amount of pain he was feeling. While his adamantium armor had been able to disperse a great deal about of the invisible magic attacks on his body, it had not been enough. Gazef knew that he had least fractured a rib.

When he looked around him, his grimace worsened. While he had slaughtered dozens of angels already, it meant nothing when they were resummoned. All of his fighting had been useless as he had not dented the enemy fighting strength, beside for the few mages that had been able to wound or kill. The enemy mages showed no sign of exhaustion.

Breathless, Gazef's sword hand was trembling as if his intensely fatigued body was whispering into his ears, telling him to lie down and rest.

"You have fought valiantly but it is time to end this. Angels, finish him off."

Even if Gazef wanted to catch his breath, after listening to the orders of their commander the Angels attacked mercilessly one after another.

First he would dodge, then pierce it through the side with his sword. He would use his tough armor to block the attack of the next Angel swooping down from the sky.

Although Gazef wanted to retaliate, there were just too many attacks. He could only block or dodge. There was no time for him to slay his attackers when he was merely holding onto his own life. The accumulated fatigue sapped his strength. In a moment of carelessness he nearly crumbled to his knees after taking the right step as he blocked a blow from an angel.

The angels capitalized in Gazef's moment of weakness. They swarmed him en mass with their weapons aimed at drawing blood.

Gazef didn't have time to defend himself with his blade. He was being attacked from too many directions at once, maybe when he wasn't exhausted then he could have gotten out, but he didn't have the time or energy. A bold risk had to be taken. Tugging his head into his chest, he covered his head as much as he could with his arms and dive-rolled.

Weapons were negated in their ability to wound as it collided into adamantium armor. The lucky few hits had connected were glancing blows, the result of Gazef's thick skull - literally. Gazef was no ordinary man. He was a superhuman when it came to his body. He had the strength of several men, and to support that strength was unbelievable high bone density or his muscles alone would destroy his skeleton if his body hadn't adapted to match his superhuman strength. His skull was stronger than most mortals, and aiding to the deflection of the angels weapons were the curved structure of the skull.

Anything that came in his way was smashed aside as he barrel rolled through the attacking angels that surrounded him.

When he landed on the ground and stood up, his eyes swapped heavily as he used all the remaining strength in his body to maintain his balance. His trained hand trembled nonstop. He couldn't even lift the sword grasped in his hand. All of his strength had burned away from the fighting and he swore that he was running on fumes. But, he still wouldn't give up. Grinding his teeth, he let out a sharp growling sound.

Gazef was not afraid of death. He had already taken countless lives himself, so he was mentally prepared to face the same ending on the battlefield. However, he could not accept this current situation. To attack so many villages, to murder unarmed, innocent villagers just to lure him into a trap. He absolutely couldn't let himself die with the shame of being unable to avenge those who had died as a bait to lure him, but most of all he couldn't tolerate his own powerlessness.

"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME—!" Gazef roared from the very bottom of his lungs.

Feeling the awe-inspiring presence of a man who shouldn't even have enough strength left to take a single step, the Angels could not help but fall back. They who were spirits and immortal to anything short of specialized magic couldn't help but fear that animalistic human.

"Hu-—! Hu-—!" Gazef huffed after the exhaustive roaring.

The simple act of standing made it hard for him to breathe, his consciousness was fuzzy and his whole body felt as if it was buried under a thick layer of mud. But he couldn't rest, the moment he did everything would be over. Furthermore, even with this amount of pain, it could not be said that he would be able to understand the pain of the villagers who died.

"I am the Royal Guard Captain of the Kingdom! For my beloved Kingdom, and to protect this Kingdom's people! How could I possibly lose to you scum who had tarnished this Kingdom's name───!"

He was man that would slay the mages and angels before him. It was his duty as the protector, and avenger of those slain to utterly erase the men and women that sought to simply kill countless people and destroy entire villages just to lure him out. So the only thing he could do is to defeat the enemy in front of him to his utmost ability. Wanting to protect the future of the people of the Kingdom. He only thought about remove the threat to his beloved country.

"...It's because you keep on saying such nonsense, that you'll die in this place. Gazef Strolonoff."

Gazef glared at the enemy commander, as he listened to his enemy's ridiculing words.

"If you had just chosen to abandon the villagers in the frontier, then it wouldn't have ended like this. It's impossible for you to be unaware that your life alone is worth more than the lives of a thousand peasants. If you really loved your country, you would have abandoned these villagers."

"You and I…. will never… see eye to eye!"

"What good can you do with your current body? Stop needlessly struggling and lie down like a good boy. I shall have some pity on you and grant you a painless death."

"If you really… think that I can no longer act, then why don't you… come over here and cut off my head? With me looking like this… it should be really easy right?"

"... Well, looks like you're all talk. If you still want to fight, do you actually believe you have any chance of winning?"

Gazef simply stared ahead, his trembling hand holding onto his sword. Hazily looking at the enemy in front of him, not even caring about the restless Angels surrounding him.

"... What a waste of time. How foolish. Once I kill you, those surviving villagers will be up next. Everything that you did up till now only served to prolong their suffering."

"Heh, Heh…. Hehehe…."

Gazef had a smile across his face.

"...What's so funny?"

"...I will not die before taking you all down with me!"

"... Angels, kill Gazef Strolonoff."

With that cold command, countless wings began to move. As Gazef mustered the last of his strength and ran forward with the determination to face death, he heard a voice that sent chills down his spine.

" _Twist my core, Caladbolg_!"

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	3. Godkin

**Chapter Three "Godkin"**

"Is everyone okay?" Shirou shouted as he made him way to the forest near Carne Village, where the villagers of Carne Village had taken refuge in.

While Shirou could easily spot dozens of people in the forest with him experienced eyes, he couldn't tell how many there were exactly. He quickly used magic to aid him to enhancing his eyesight to superhuman levels and temporarily alter him vision to that of a thermal scanner temporarily and count every individual heat signature of a human body, which would be glaring obvious from the background heat.

"Emiya-sama, we are here!" A familiar voice shouted.

He jumped and landed on a tree branch that was close to where he had heard the voice.

"Did everyone make it?" Shirou asked, worryingly.

Out of the shadows underneath Shirou came out a familiar face. Shirou recognized it belonging to the village chief. The elderly man bore a happy expression.

"Everyone made it out safely and accounted for. We are all here."

Shirou sighed in relief. "Is there anything that I could do to help?" Shirou asked.

"Please save Gazef-sama and his troops. They acted as bait so that we are safe."

"The village and the villagers were never the intended target. Either Gazef or his unit was the target. There is no reason to send in a company of elite mages to burn down or masscare villagers. Carne Village has no strategic importance to warrant such allocation of resources." Shirou replied.

"I don't know what you're exactly talking about… but even if Gazef was the cause, that is no reason to let him or his troops to die…"

Shirou cursed. He was once again faced with the truth that his father had once told him. That to save someone meant that someone else couldn't be saved. His fist clenched into a ball and then he released it back into their natural state.

 _No, I had made the right decision at that time. The innocents who cannot defend themselves come first. I needed to check on them to make sure that they were safe. Gazef and his troops knew that it was their duty to protect the villagers and had willingly went to battle in hopes to draw the mages away from the villagers._ Shirou mentally reminded himself.

Shirou Emiya began to create a Bounded Field. A rather complex one that would've normally been outside his abilities. It was something that was normally outside his ability as a specialized third-rate mage, who's ability was focused around his Element and Origin. It was only thanks to the influences of his YGGDRASIL avatar that he was able to create a complex and powerful Bounded Field that even a first-rate mage like Rin Tohsaka would be impressed by.

"Please don't move from here. I have placed up powerful magic that should keep you hidden and protected. Only if you hear the sound of a bell ringing or someone getting hurt do you move from this area," said Shirou to the villagers gathered before him and they nodded their heads.

"Please, Emiya-sama. Bring us another miracle like you did with those bandits. Eliminate the mages and allow us to return to our homes."

"I will do my best, but I cannot promise that I will be successful." Shirou replied then he jumped off the tree branch and made best speed for where a battle was no doubt unfolding. _Please still be alive, Gazef-san._

\- O -

" _Twist my core, Caladbolg_!"

The masculine voice was the only warning that anyone on the grasslands had before they heard a roaring sound in the air. What happened a heartbeat after was the last thing anyone expected.

There was a blinding flash followed by air gushing outwards like the very air itself had been punched out of its place by an invisible force. No one was able to maintain their position and thrown back. The robe-clad mages were thrown like blown sand. The angels went with the wind like any winged creature. Only those weighing armor like Gazef and his troops remained grounded or blown backwards.

Many of the mages landed with so much force that they broke a majority of their skeleton and left indents of their body in the ground they landed. The mages with a majority of their skeleton shattered would quickly die from blood loss if they were not treated quickly. These lucky few mages that had been able to come out miraculous still suffered broken limbs and many cases broke all four limbs. None of the mages came out nothing short several broken bones.

Angels were able to come out unscathed from forcefully displaced by the air were spared any broken bones because they were able to glide with the wind, aided by their wings.

Gazef and his soldiers were unharmed by the wind generated by save for being surprised by the unexpected explosions.

The blinding light had been result fireball erupted. It had been so hot that the very grasslands had been ignited and the ground had become perched. Mages screamed in agony as fire combusted their robes and burned at their skin. The heat also affected the angels and their flesh began to boil under their armor. Gazef was unaffected for his armor had created with the intention of allowing the wearer to fight fire-breathing creatures like dragons in mind. The soldiers were spared harmed as their body and equipment had been buffed to include increased resistance against the elements like fire.

If anyone was to later recount the details of the explosion than they would describe the grassland had become hell incarnate. Their surroundings were burning and what seemed like lava and magma appeared in the background. Many mages were being burnt and angels were boiling in their armors. They had not been hit directly by the explosion or they would be dead immediately with only perched corpses to tell the tale.

"Impossible…" Gazef muttered in amazement at what he had witnessed.

Out from the burning flames and obscuring smoke was the last person that Gazef had thought he would see. Trending out of like specter was a boy he had met not too long ago. He looked didn't look one bit different from before, but the aura he gave off was completely different. The two-tailed coat he wore over him black armor fluttered in the wind like it had been dyed in blood of those he had slain. His visage was that of a killer. He walked with the presence of someone who had been fought in more battles than himself and slain mountains and mountains of living beings.

If it wasn't the massive black bow that was even longer than him, Gazef might have mistaken the boy as a mage. The explosion was something that he witnessed only powerful mages could achieve. The bow suggested that he was an archer, but Gazef saw no arrows and made him thought he had some skill in magic.

Nigan, a captain of the Sunlight Scripture, stared at the new individual in front of him in surprise.

"Good day, mages of the Slane Theocracy. I am Shirou Emiya."

The voice was heard clearly despite the screams of mages and angels from the agonizing injuries. The crackling of fire in the background didn't distract anyone. All could hear the newcomer easily.

Nigan did not answer. Searching through his mind for the name Shirou Emiya, nothing came up; it could be possible that he had been given a fake name. The situation looked like it would be better to find out what the boy wanted to say, and gather intelligence from there. Judging it would be good to listen, Nigan raised his chin, motioning Shirou to continue.

"You cannot defeat me. The only thing you should do is to surrender." Shirou continued.

The words were spoken in an unhesitating tone; one could hear him absolute confidence. The statement seemed less than a bluff or some baseless nonsense. The boy, who called himself Shirou Emiya, had absolute confidence in his abilities.

"Your ignorance is saddening and you will pay for your foolishness." Nigan replied with a smirk.

"Do you not think that I am standing here because I am fully confident in my victory? Why would I give up the element of surprise? Why hadn't the explosion taken you all out in one swift go and instead exploded relatively harmless in the sky?" Shirou asked in a very assured tone.

Nigan was left in silence. He was absolutely certain that the explosion had been the work of the boy or someone that was working with him. The explosion had took place a great distance in the sky, meaning that if the boy had wished than he could have slaughtered every single mage under his command and himself if he had desired too with that gigantic explosion. Nigan could only think of two reasons why the boy hadn't taken him and his mages out in one huge explosion. One, the boy had utter confidence in himself to take them on. Two, that Gazef and his soldiers were his allies and the explosion would've also taken them out if his purpose was to rescue them.

The captain of the mages turned to glance around. Nigan saw that his mages were not in any condition to fight. The last of the angels had also all disappeared with the destruction of their material bodies. From what he could see, it would take a miracle for his mages to get themselves back into fighting shape. None of his mages had died yet. Many parts thanks to the quick thinking of those able bodied mages instinctively had began to heal their comrades with magic and potions. The most obvious cause was that the explosion had been on purposely detonated far from them. Tere was no doubt that retaliation would result in a slaughter of his mages in their present state.

"If you understand, the situation than I will let you and your mages live if you answer me questions, truthfully. The Angels you summoned, you must have used the magic spell, Summon Angel, am I right?"

The Captain of the Sunlight Scripture was lost for words. Here he was offered a chance of just answering some questions, but it also seemed too good to be true. Even if it seemed too good of an offer, Nigan was willingly to take answer. What risk was there if he tried? He might even be able to satisfy the young man and allow them to live.

"That is correct, sir." Nigan replied as respectfully as he could muster, despite the possibility of death looming if he displeased the boy. "... Could it be too much to ask for mercy?"

"You dare to speak those words! After all the villagers had to go through because your orders!"

There was nothing but silence as Nigan stared at the newcomer. He couldn't muster up the conviction to reply rudely to the boy. If he was angered than there was no telling if he and his subordinates would actually end up dead. Everything changed when he heard the whistling of a peculiar pattern. Nigan smirked.

"So you are displeased about that, _boy_. So, what?" Nigan responded in arrogant manner.

"Great…" Shirou sighed. "I am dealing with a bunch of idiots."

Several hoarse voices came from around Nigan's surroundings. All shouting of outrage at being treated like they were harmless ants came from Nigan's mages. The same mages that had been severely injured no less than Shirou had appeared. While most of them were still injured, they were no longer baring any wounds that would significantly hinder their combat abilities. Beside the mages were freshly summoned angels.

"Angels to attack! Kill the boy!" Nigan ordered to the newly summoned angels.

Two angels, having received Nigan's orders, began to attack. Flapping their wings, they advanced by riding on the wind. The angels made a beeline for Shirou, and didn't hesitate to slash at him with their flaming swords.

. Everyone expected him to defend himself, but nobody could believe the scene that unfolded before their eyes. Shirou didn't move away and intercepted the attacks with his bow. The bow didn't break, it did the exact opposite. Instead, the angel's flaming swords broke. Shirou didn't do anything, he just let the angels swing their swords down at the bow.

The two angels strongly flapped their wings, looking like butterflies caught in a web. With strange movements, the angels slowly drifted to the side, but it was almost as if they were forcibly pushed aside. That was when Shirou, who had been hidden behind the Angels, could once again be seen between the two of them.

"Didn't I mention before? There is no way you can defeat me," said Shirou as he pushed forward and caused the angels to stagger backwards with their body exposed to further attack.

"Impossible…"

Angels were definitely not light. They were much more heavier than an adult man because of the powerful muscles required to facilitate flight with the use of their wings, and also the addition weight that came with their wings, not to count the burden of their weapons and armor. Weight that one couldn't easily push away, not by the boy. Of course, someone with enough muscles could do it. The problem was that the person was a boy. Just by looking at him, it was obvious that he didn't have the muscle mass to accomplish such a task.

"...There must be some kind of illusion here."

"Yeah, it must be like that! He clearly doesn't have the muscle mass to do what had just happened."

A dull sound without a hint of pain, entered the ears of the doubtful Nigan and the other mages. When they looked at the source of the sound, it was the angels dispersing into countless balls of light. It was the result from the massive black arrow smashing through the angels' armor and their flesh, causing the destruction of the angels' material body.

An eerie quiet passed as Nigan and his mage observed and analyzed what happened.

Nigan knew that he and his mages were out of their depths, but he ignored his intuition. Since they finally managed to corner their prey, Gazef, with their trap, how could they just let him escape? Too many resources had been invested in the endeavor to slay Gazef Stronoff, the Re-Estize Kingdom's strongest swordsman, and Nigan doubted that they would get another chance for a very long time, not when Gazef had become aware that he was being targeted and would take measures to prevent himself from being caught off-guard in the future.

"All the angels attack! Quickly!"

Like bullets, all the angels flew towards Shirou with their weapons.

"…When will people learn…"

In a blink of an eye, several of the angels went down with arrow through their heads. At least, half of the angels were taken out before they could reach Shirou with their weapons. When it looked like he was about to be slaughtered by the angels' weapons – Shirou narrowly avoided death by leaping into the air. Even then, he didn't pause for a moment in him attacks to take down the angels while he was mid-air.

A thump announced Shirou landing onto the ground, safely. Only motes of light that fell to the ground showed the only remains seen of the angels that he had so effortless dispensed.

"Im-impossible…"

The scene in front of their eyes was just that unbelievable. Almost fifty angels were destroyed. The boy had taken them out so effortlessly. The mastery needed was beyond anything but the most skilled masters. Even then most masters would show some form of tiredness, if it were just momentarily.

Nigan couldn't help but shiver in terror. As far as he knew, each nation normally had an extremely small number of people with the strength that the boy had just demonstrated. He didn't doubt for a second that the boy, Shirou, was amongst the likes of Gazef's caliber. The detachment of mages he had brought had been gathered under the assumption of taking down someone of Gazef's caliber, not two, like he presently found himself.

His present assignment should have fallen under the Slane Theocracy's strongest, the Black Scripture. They were the only ones that could deal with some of the greatest fighters, not the Sunlight Scripture, a branch dedicated to in the extermination of mass demi-humans. His detachment was more meant to deal with ordinary soldiers and the veteran elite, not master fighters.

Nigan shook his head to get rid of his doubts. He couldn't doubt his superior. There had believed that they were allocating the correct amount of resources for the given task. The unexpected just had happened. He could deal with the situation with the resources he had. That was why Nigan reached inside his pocket, gaining courage from the magic item kept there. He was convinced that as long as he had that item, everything would be fine.

However, his subordinates couldn't do the same, so they tried other methods.

"Woo, wooahh───!"

"How could this happen!"

"Monster!"

Finding the angels useless, his subordinates screamed and began to cast the spells they were confident in. _Confuse Human, Hammer of Justice, Bind, Rain of Fire, Jade Coffin, Sacred Beam, Blast, Stalagmite Assault, Open Wounds, Poison, Fear, Curse, Blind_...

All kinds of magic hit Shirou. Withstanding the storm of magic, Shirou still had a calm expression.

"These are all very familiar spells... Who taught them to you? Some people from the Slane Theocracy? Or someone else? Seems like there are more and more things that I have to find out."

Not only could he kill dozens of angels effortless, but also he was also immune to magic.

"Yiiii–!"

Because none of the magic attacks had any effect, one of his men shrieked strangely and took out an iron ball for a catapult. Nigan thought that if a dozens of angels and mages were unable to cause harm, what use would an iron ball be? But he still didn't stop his subordinate's actions.

An iron ball capable of easily crushing human bones flew accurately towards Shirou.

The sound of an explosion could be heard. Instantly. It really happened in an instant. It was destroyed by a regularly looking arrow. Nothing seemed special about it, but Nigan could sense it with his fine magical senses. The arrow was imbued with more magic than either he or his subordinates could bottle up in an instantaneous magic attack.

"...What?"

"We ain't dealing with just a master archer, but someone who is skilled in magic!"

"What will it take to drill it into your heads that you cannot win against me." Shirou said in annoyed tone.

The Captain of the Sunlight Scripture could see that morale was hitting a breaking point. If he didn't do something quickly then his subordinates were going to lose their nerves. He had just the thing to increase their confidence of victory.

" _Oh, the messenger of the Six Gods. Come! Come show us your might and bring down the enemy that defies the will of our God!_ " Nigan chanted as he withdrew the object that had been hidden in his pocket and displayed for the rest of the world to see.

A bright light appeared. It was similar to the bright light that came forth with the summoning of angels. Unlike the previous summonings of angels, this one was more spectacular. The size of the creature that was being summoned was several times larger than the angels from before. When the new summon finally manifested itself fully, it was far more grander in appearance than the smaller angels that had been summoned before.

There were a collection of shiny wings, within the numerous wings, there were tablets etched with symbols of royalty, but the head and legs could not be seen. Although its appearance was strange, but anyone could feel that it was a divine being. Because the appearance of the Angel was so sudden, the surrounding atmosphere had become pristine. A supreme incarnation of goodness, made the mages burst out in frenzied cheers. The mage were in high spirits.

This time, they would definitely be able to kill Shirou Emiya. This time it was the boy's turn to be fearful. To face the power of a servant of the Six God, the boy would know how stupid he was to resist them, the Sunlight Scripture.

"An Archangel, I see." Shirou muttered, through the wind itself seemed to carry the muttered words to Nigan's ears.

Nigan couldn't help but be amazed by the boy's knowledge. Few had been able to witness an Archangel, a personal messenger of the Six Gods, and thus few had the knowledge to recognize an Archangel immediately. Anyone with some brain could realize that the archangel he had summoned was that of a higher being than the angels that his subordinates did and could correctly guess that he had summoned an Archangel, but the boy had not guessed.

He had been too sure. He knew exactly what he had summoned the moment he had laid eyes on his summon.

 _Could it be that he is actually a member of one of the Six Scriptures?_ Nigan wondered. _Only a member of the Six Scriptures would have been blessed with the sight of seeing a personal messenger of the Six Gods as a reward for their faithful work. Now I think about…_ He began to panic when his mind continued a particular line of thinking. _NO! He cannot be a member of the Black Scripture!_

If that process of thinking was correct than Nigan had made a terrible mistake. When it came to the Six Scriptures, the Black Scripture was the most respected and powerful sects out of the six that made the Slane Theocracy. Nigan nervously swallowed when he realized the folly he had made if his assumption was correct. The Black Scripture was the smallest, but most powerful out of Six Scriptures because they only included members that were amongst the greatest that humanity had to offer.

 _No, I cannot become scared by something I could be wrong on!_ Nigan mentally screamed to himself in assurance. "Oh, great Archangel. Please slay the boy before you."

" _Holy Smite_ ," The Archangel chanted in a majestic voice.

The magic activated, the only thing that could be seen was a beam of light falling.

With a sound, bluish white divine light constantly fell down, encircling Shirou.

The archer, who had appeared standing still until the Archangel was about to hit him with Holy Smite, suddenly moved in a blur away from him previous position and far away from where Holy Smite landed. It happened to quickly for no one to be able to catch with eyes. The massive black bow that had been carelessly resting on the ground was instantaneously in the boy's hand with an arrow notched, pointing right at the Archangel.

The Archangel instantly began to fly away when it realized the danger it was in. It could see that the arrow wasn't an ordinary one. The arrow's appearance was not that of an ordinary arrow. It was completely black and composed wholly of metal. Visible to the naked eye were waves of magical energy pouring out the metal arrow and forming a mist made out of magical energy shrouding Shirou.

Fearing for its own life, the Archangel fled into the sky. It reached speed that no ordinary bird could ever hope to achieve.

" _Fly true, Hrunting_." Shirou chanted as he released the black metal arrow with a smirk.

An explosion engulfed the Archangel. Unlike the prior to explosions that could create a gigantic explosion, this explosion was far tamer. Though, it was still devastating. It utterly annihilated the Archangel. It's body melted away with no resistance. The explosion faded away after consuming its target. There wasn't a trace left on the scene. Everything that had transpired seemed to an illusion.

"Ho-how is that possible?"

"With only one blow…"

"Yii!"

"Tha-that is too impossible arhhhhhhh!"

In the middle of the mess of sounds, was the sound of Nigan's roar. Nigan had no idea he was shouting. He only wanted to translate what he was thinking into words, and unknowingly started to shout.

"Such a thing can't happen! Too impossible! No one can slay an Archangel so easily! Where are you from Shirou Emiya?! A person like you can't be some unknown figure! What is your real name?!" Absolutely abandoning all semblance of calm, not willing to acknowledge the fact, Nigan roared.

"Who knows? I could be an enemy. I could be an ally." Shirou relied in a cryptic tone. He then smirked and finished speaking in a rhetorical manner. "Maybe even someone from the Slane Theocracy? I did after kill no one, besides the angels – but it doesn't matter cause my weapons and magic could only their physical bodies and their nature as spirits make them impervious to nothing short of magical weapons and magic designed to specifically harm and kill spiritual beings. An ally would never kill their allies when possible."

Nigan was left short of breath. His own heartbeat was especially loud. The background noise seemed like the only thing he could hear beside the sounds that his body generated to live.

His fear was confirmed. He was indeed likely to be dealing with someone that was a member of the Black Scripture. Nigan began to shiver at the possibility that the boy was enraged because he had been the one to order the knights to raid Carne Village and then had the nerve to threaten the village again. The only reason Nigan could think that a member of a Black Scripture would be so anger at another member of the Six Scripture was that he had unknowingly attacked where him family lived.

He had used his trump card. There was no way he could fight someone that ranked amongst humanity's greatest. He cannot fight against him.

"Ca-captain, wh-what should we do…" One of Nigan's subordinates spluttered.

"Forgive me, Shirou-sama! I didn't know a member of the Black Scripture had family that lived in a remote village of the Re-Entize Kingdom." Nigan screamed in a mixture of panic and respectful tone, he got down onto the ground and kneeled with his head bowed down while ignoring his subordinates.

"No way!"

"A member of a Black Scripture?!"

"He's too young to be a member of the Black Scripture?!"

"He couldn't more than the age of seventeen!"

The disbelief that the mages held was because they couldn't comprehend what they where doing. While they were the elites of the Sunlight Scripture, they were insects to be compared to the likes of the Black Scripture. Every branch of the Six Scripture, beside the Black Scripture, were numbered in the tens of thousands. The Black Scripture was by the smallest group that numbered to become the smallest minority group in humanity. It was unheard for members of the other Six Scripture would never see a member of the Black Scripture in their entire lives, that was how rare how it was to be graced by their appearance.

"Age doesn't matter, fool! In the Black Scripture you only require the ability to join. They don't care about your background. Only ability. Be respectful of your superior!" Nigan screamed in outrage as his subordinates' outrageous reactions then he quickly bowed his head when he remembered that he should be acting to someone that was a member of the Black Scripture. "Sir, may I ask a question."

"What would that question be?" Shirou inquired with an amused look.

"Are you one of the Godkins; demigods that have the blood of the Six Gods running through their veins? That would explain how you were able to dispatch the Archangel, it was after all a lower being that exists to serve your ancestor. It would make complete sense for a higher being such as yourself to easily slay an Archangel. And the most powerful members of the Black Scriptures are after all demigods." Nigan asked in the most polite and respectful tone he could, speaking with a religious fanaticism that only zealots could match.

"Maybe? What should I delve information to ones that are so insignificant?"

The rest of Nigan subordinates only then to began to comprehend seriousness of the situation. They were elites mages that had exterminated thousands of demi-humans in the name of their Six Gods. What they were in the presence was an avatar of the Six Gods embodied in flesh and blood, one of their descendants. After coming to that conclusion, everything clicked into place. The unbelievable power and arrogance that Shirou carried around him was because they were lower beings compared to him. He was one of the Godkins; an avatar of their gods.

"Please forgive us, Shirou-sama. We didn't know that you were a Godkin! If you deem it fit then please slay us. We will be honored knowing that the one to send us to heaven was a Godkin!" The mages all screamed in religious fanaticism as they followed their commander's example.

"Hhhhaaaaaahhh!" Gazef roared in laughter as he doubled over and held his stomach despite the bone tiring weariness he had. "I knew you were not ordinary person, but to that last thing I would have expected see one of the legendary Godkins that Slane Theocracy would guard with their very existence."

"What is it too ironic that Slane Theocracy fighting their own?" Shirou responded amused, addressing the exhausted individual who had been ignored ever since he had made an appearance. Turning towards the kneeling and head bowed mages, he addressed them in a grave tone. "What should I do about this?"

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	4. Resurrection

**Chapter Four "Resurrection"**

Shirou quickly looked for a quiet place. As he walked he thought about the many things that were pressing his mind. The first thing what was wrong about him and his surroundings. He should be inside his bedroom after the countdown for the closing of YGGDRASIL's servers. Instead, he had found himself in a forest and saving an entire village from bandits then Gazef and his troops from mages. The world around him was not YGGDRASIL. YGGDRASIL did not provide a sense of taste and smell, and has a limited sense of touch. Senses that were currently fully manifested unlike the video game. That meant either YGGDRASIL had either gone through a spontaneous evolution overnight or he was back somewhere in real life.

He soon found himself where he found himself in a small grove of trees not too far away from Carne Village. He sat down and slowly took deep breaths.

His body was different from what he was used too. He had incredible stamina from his intensive training. He should be winded a bit. He had used two Noble Phantasms, Caladbolg and Hrunting. Even if, he hadn't been close to bringing out their full potential, they were costed a hefty amount of prana just to project and active a fraction of their ability. Shirou Emiya hadn't winded one bit.

Closing his eyes, Shirou casted Structural Analysis upon his body.

"Unbelievable." Shirou muttered in disbelief.

The amount of Od he was currently producing outmatched anything he should be capable was remotely capable of. Shirou Emiya was little better than the average mage when it came to his Magic Circuits. The average mage had about 20 Magic Circuits. For a first generation mage, he had been lucky to be born with 27 Magic Circuits. The quality of his magic circuits was also similarly just above-average in terms of how much od it could produce. The number of magic circuits had been unchanged, but that didn't explain what he saw before him now was a ridiculous unit of od being produced by his magic circuits. It was like his magic circuits had decided undergo a transformation like an average man suddenly becoming a bodybuilder.

It wasn't just in regards to the unit of od that his magic circuits were producing. The amount of mana he could take from the atmosphere as substitute for od in the generation of Prana was similarly increased.

If he had to estimate his newfound status of his magic circuits, he would peg his current state along the lines of being even greater than the prodigious Rin Tohsaka, who came from a longstanding and distinguished lineage of mages. In fact, he might even estimate that he was closer in magical energy reserves to the legendary Barthomeloi, who were famed for their Blue-Blood Magic Circuits.

He might actually have to reconsider his whole way of fighting. Shirou had always been limited to what he could do. His trump cards Noble Phantasms, the most powerful ones, were could only be used sparingly as they consumed great deal of magical energy. His trump of trump cards, Unlimited Blade Works, could only be used for several minutes at best. Now that he was no longer restricted to his former above-average prana reserves he had more options. Adopt more of his fighting skills and tactics that he had used in YGGDRASIL.

"Those were fun times," Shirou mused as he recalled the past.

It wasn't just his magic circuits that had undergone a transformation. If he hadn't used magic then he would've never known that he was different from before. His physical body had also gone a significant change. Nothing that seemed negative from what he could see. Though, the transformation of his body did alarm him. Outwardly, he was not different from he was in real life or in YGGDRASIL, as his avatar was a carbon copy of his real self. Internally, he was still a whole different story. He was still human. Something greater than a normal human, though.

"If I recall…" Shirou muttered as tapped on the air like there was something in front of him. "I was right…"

Something appeared before him. It was a very familiar sight to Shirou. Similar menus were found in many video games. The thing that caught Shirou's attention was how it looked exactly the same for the game menu that was in YGGDRASIL. Only one thing was off. A few of the menu options were darkened out. Things like graphic/sound settings and etc. The most important one that caught Shirou's attention was the log out button. It was darkened out.

Shirou let out a sigh. Nothing would from speculations without any proof to work with. Questions only led to more questions. He would have to investigate later. Given what he had discovered about his current self was closer to his YGGDRASIL then he was in real life there was a theory that he wanted to test out.

He walked towards the village square, where the villagers were repairing their homes and scavenge what could that had been destroyed.

"If it wasn't for you, everyone would be dead or sold into slavery. We are really grateful!" The Village Chief bowed, the moment he saw Shirou and the villagers around him soon followed suit.

"Please raise your heads. I did just what anyone should do." Shirou replied.

"We know that, but please allow us to thank you nonetheless. The only reason so many survived was because of your help."

"There actually is something that I might need help with," said Shirou, which caught the attention of the villagers.

"What would that be, savour-sama?!"

"We will do anything we can?!"

"Please give us orders!"

"Please bring all the dead here," said Shirou. The villagers looked at each other and then at Shirou in confusion.

"What are you waiting for?!" The village elder snapped. "Our savior asked for the dead to be brought before him. There must be a reason for such a request. Get to it!"

The confused looks and hesitation evaporated at the village elder's shouting. Those that were able-bodied rushed to bring the dead while those without the strength to do such a thing do their best to support those that were able-bodied by providing whatever assistance they could provide. The first of the dead were brought within minutes.

"The first of the dead has been brought here as you asked," said the village elder. "Why do you indeed to do?"

Shirou knelt down to inspect the dead that was brought to him. The corpse of a young girl brought to him was relatively untouched save for hole that had been stabbed into her heart by what looked like a sword. It was a good specimen to test Shirou's theory.

"I intend to bring forth a miracle," Shirou replied as he placed his hands on the chest of the deceased girl. " _Resurrection_."

A blue light of magical energy shone. It started from his hand and began to envelop the entire body of the deceased girl. The effects were not immediate. At first it seemed like a great light show, but that soon changed when the wounds that had killed the girl began to disappear. It was only after several moments the raising and lowering of the chest could be seen.

"Welcome back," said Shirou with a warm smile as lifted the previously deceased girl from the ground.

"Ummmhhmmm… what is going on? Is this heaven?" The girl asked as her eyes opened in confusion.

"Sasha!" A young woman shouted in happiness as she ran to grab what seemed like her daughter to Shirou. "Are you alright? Does anything hurt?" The woman asked as she inspected her daughter for any injuries.

"Is that you, mama? Did you also come to heaven?" The girl asked, clearly still lost about the situation.

"This is not heaven," said Shirou as he knelt before the girl so that she could see him. "Your mama never died. Sadly, you passed away, but I managed to bring you back."

"The savior is a god?"

"No, he might a priest. A heard the most powerful and experienced priests can bring back the dead."

"That doesn't make sense… How is he such a skilled in so many fields? Archery… swordsmanship and magic…"

"The heroes of legend were supposed to be really skilled and many times in many fields… he might be someone like them…"

"Are you saying that we are looking at a hero of legend… None of them are supposed to be alive anymore…"

"No… he might actually be one of them… There are supposed to be objects and magics that can prolong life or even grant immortality."

"Maybe he isn't a legendary hero… but someone that is one their way to become one. I think a legendary hero would've been able to slay the bandits in one swoop."

"Can the other dead be brought forth," said Shirou in a loud voice to interrupt the talking crowd of villagers. "The more time passes the less likely I will be able to bring back the dead."

Shirou's statement set off alarm bells as the villagers began a mad dash to bring their dead in a frantic dash to be the first one to have their loved ones resurrected.

\- O -

Linda was awestruck. She couldn't comprehend the fact that every single one of her comrades was alive. She had sworn that she had seen them die before her very eyes. No one could survive a dagger to the brain or heart unless that was a miracle. What had happened couldn't be described as a miracle. A miracle was supposed to be something that rarely happened. Maybe if a few of her knights had survived then that would be stretching the definition of a miracle and likelihood of multiply miracles. Linda and her knights were a product of several small miracles or one large one.

"Shit. How are we alive?"

"Maybe because we were redeemable?"

"Pssst. Redeemable? Of course, we don't need to be redeemable! Everything we have done was in the name of the Six Great Gods. What we have done have been sanctioned and blessed."

"Yea. That is true. We are part of the Sunlight Scripture. All the demi-humans and heretics we have killed were to ensure the survival of humanity. The Six Great Gods must have revived us for our hard work."

Her fellow knights all continued to discuss amongst themselves to justify anything that came to mind what they had done must have pleased the Six Great Gods to allow them a second chance at life.

"I cannot believe such a group of buffons are right… even if how they were blessed was somewhat wrong…"

Linda and her knights turned around to see where the voice came from. The one to enter the room was someone that they respected and hated at the same time. It was Nigan, their commanding officer, that entered the room with his mages. Nigan was different as Linda looked at him. The mages also seemed to share the same thing. Normally, Nigan and the mages carried themselves with an air of confidence. Instead, they carried haunted expression like they had done something that they had horribly regretted.

If Linda could read the minds of Nigan and his mages then she would be proven correct.

The mages were all trembling and going insane for the greatest heresies that they had committed. There were different degrees of heresy. Anything from denouncing the existence of the Six Great Gods to… their crimes. What they had done was worse than defiling a sacred site or object. They had threatened a Godkin. Godkins were the living embodiment of their gods. Within their blood was that of divinity that had passed onto the descendants of the Six Great Gods.

There was no worse crime than even thinking about harming a Godkin. Normally, the crime they have committed would have resulted in agonizing deaths and their names struck in the annals of history as the worst traitors to the Slane Theocracy. What they feared most was not one would happen to them in life, but what would happen to them in death. For committing the gravest of crimes, they would be denied entrance to heaven. Where their Gods, the Six Great Gods were said to live.

Linda and the knights seeing the downtrodden expressions of their normally smug and arrogant superiors began to taunt and insult them. The taunting and insulting lasted several minutes before one of the mages couldn't help, but explode.

"Do you know what tried to do?! You tried to kill a Godkin!"

"Ha?" Linda and the knights said collectively in confusion.

"What he means is that the man that killed you all was a Godkin," said Nigan. "Instead of letting you stay dead and to wander purgatory forever without a chance to redeem yourself for the crime that you had committed, the Godkin resurrected your sorry asses and gave you a chance to redeem yourself!"

"You honestly want us to believe that, Captain Nigan!" One of the knights shouted as he laughed in a mocking tone.

"Peter, calm down. Captain Nigan might seem to be shouting nonsense, but think about it. The last thing we all remember, besides finding ourselves in this room was that we were all killed at the hands a single man." Another knight spoke up.

"Enough! Silence the two of you," Linda shouted to silence her two subordinates. "Explain, Nigan."

"The man that you and your subordinates fought goes by the name Shirou Emiya. After he killed all of you, he fought me and my subordinates. He could've killed all of us like he did with you, knights, but he instead seemed to have taken mercy on us and subdued us instead." Nigan explained.

"I can understand why you might possibly think him as Godkin, if he was that powerful to defeat all of us, but there are plenty of humans alive that can do the same. It was why the Slane Theocracy devoted so much manpower and resources to hunt down and kill Gazef Stronoff. He might be on the same caliber as Gazef…" Linda responded.

"Powerful humans like Gazef that can defeat us all do certainly exist. Shirou Emiya is an exception. He must be a Godkin. How else do you think is he gifted in so many fields? Explain his archery, swordsmanship and magic? Only Godkins and legendary heroes are supposed to be talented or skilled in more than one discipline of fighting. Shirou-sama himself also confirmed it himself." Nigan explained. "If what I said wasn't proof enough then what will you think after hearing this. He was the one that resurrected you all. Why would a normal human try to save their would-be murderer? He resurrected you all because you happened to be devoted followers of his ancestors, one of the Six Great Gods."

Linda's and her knight's eyes widened as they processed what they heard from Nigan. At first, they didn't want to believe what Nigan had said. They attempted to find any holes in Nigan's logic, but found none. It was solid. No holes where they could find. Instead they attempted to think outside the box and think if Nigan had lied to them about everything he had said. That thought was thrown out the window when they looked at the serious expression that Nigan and his mages wore.

"Nigan! How could you have not known that this village was home to the Godkin then?! Do you know what heresy that my knights and I have committed? We could've slayed the Godkin's family. Do you know what that means?! Because of your mistake! All of our years of dutiful service have been a waste! There is no spot for us in heaven for what we have done, but eternal damnation!" Linda screamed as she smashed her balled gauntlet into the wall.

"I didn't know and neither did my superiors provide me with the information that any of the Six God's bloodlines lived in the Re-Estize Kingdom! If I had known than I would have never ordered you and your knights to destroy Carne Village!" Nigan screamed back in fury and self-loathing for the heretical crimes that had been committed due to his orders.

"It doesn't change the fact that you have committed heresy on two counts. The first is giving the order to slay a bloodline of the Six Great Gods and attempting to personally slay the Godkin!"

The insulting and taunting continued back and forth in a burning fury for several hours between the leaders of the knights and mages, and their subordinates backed their leaders' argument by also participating in similar conversations with the other camp.

It was only when their voice began to become die from overuse that they grudgingly decided to purse the same topic and instead talk about something else.

"Nigan, do you know the weapons that the Godkin used. I have never seen or heard about weapons that were used to instead of killing us. It pierced through hardened steel like nothing." Linda asked as she described the weapons that had been used to kill her and her knights.

"I have heard about such weapons. The said weapons that you have described to me bear close resemblance to a special breed of magic weapons that only the Black Scripture is sanctified to use. I believe they are called Black Keys." Nigan replied.

Every knight in the room dropped what they were doing and stared at Nigan in shock. It wasn't because of the weapon that had been used to knock the knights out instead of killing because they knew all sorts of absurd magical weapon existed. It was the mentioning of the Black Scripture that got their attention. Meeting a member of the Black Scripture was nearly unheard off. The Black Scripture might be the smallest sect of the Slane Theocracy, but they were the most powerful. Only humans that had reached the pinnacle of humanity were given a chance to be entered into their sects. Each one was said to be worth an entire combat group.

"Are you done talking?" Shirou drawled as he entered the room.

"Yes, blessed one!" The servants of the Slane Theocracy all screamed in respect and honor as they kneeled down and kept their heads facing the grounds.

"What was your mission?" Shirou drawled. He expected someone to answer, but everyone else in the room remained silent as they remained in their unmoved position. "Well? Will anyone answer?"

"Of course, Godkin! The mission given to us had been the elimination of Gazef Stronoff!" Nigan replied.

"So it seems Stronoff's guess was right…" Shirou muttered.

A soft thump could be heard. Instinctively, the kneeling figures raised their head when they sought to know what had been the source of the sound. What they saw was gigantic scroll. They raised their heads to Shirou and looked at her curiously.

"This is a scroll that I wrote myself. It will absolve any crime that you have committed against me under the condition that you forsake any loyalty to your current superiors and swear fealty to me. I warn you, if you break the conditions of the contract than a fate far worse than death lies before you. It has been constructed using divine magic, the very magic of my ancestors, the Six Great Gods, to condemn any oath breaker to eternal damnation and aguish in hell."

Knights and mages nervously stared at the gigantic scroll before them. They could only imagine how powerful the magic that had been interwoven in the scroll would be. The magic crystal that Nigan had used to summon an Archangel, the highest caliber of angels that one without divine blood could summon, could only be constructed by someone that had divine blood flowing through their veins, gave an example of the very minimum of what sort of magic was contained within the scroll and how potent the effects for breaking the contract was. In their minds, there was no doubt that the magic contained within the scroll was beyond anything they had witnessed because they had seen just a small example of the might that the Godkin before them had.

The mages and knights didn't need to think. They had committed heresy of the worst kind. They had drawn their weapons against a Godkin. Slaughtered individuals of the divine bloodline of their gods. They had served their gods faithfully without question for years prior to this unforgiveable crime they had recently committed. If a Godkin, the avatar of their gods, was willingly to absolve them of their unforgivable crimes than swearing fealty to serve a Godkin was both their greatest duty and the highest penance that anyone could get in the name of the Six Great Gods.

"We are honored by your wisdom, Godkin! We swear to serve you!"

\- O -

"Thank you." Gazef Stronoff bowed.

"What I am doing is only worthy of the sacrifice that your soldiers made. They acted as bait even when they knew that death was likely." Shirou said in embarrassed tone. "If I hadn't been required to escort the villagers away to safety before I entered the fight then I would've spared your men the traumatic experience of death."

"You did what you had to do. My men completely understand and do not hold any grudges against you." Gazef replied. "In fact, several of them have begun to worship you as if you were a god."

"I'm not god. Just a descendant of one…" Shirou continued with the charade of being a Godkin to explain how he was so powerful.

"You are indeed a humble one…" Gazef smiled. He then looked around at the knights and mages that had been his mortal enemies not too long ago as they helped rebuild the damage that they had caused upon Carne Village. "Are you sure that it was the right choice to resurrect the knights and mages? Will they not try to kill you again while your guard is down?"

"There is no need to worry. The knights and mages worship as a physical manifestation of the Six Great Gods. The very act of thinking to harm them goes against their consciousness." Shirou replied. "I am also not the one to leave things to chance. They all signed a geass. A magical contract that will kill them before they can harm me."

"If you are sure then I have no reason to be concerned." Gazef shrugged.

"I would like to ask a small favor from you. Can you not tell anyone that the former members of the Sunlight Scripture are alive and the Carne Village still stands. "

The Royal Guard Captain blinked at the request that had come from his savior. The fact that his savior was asking for a favor seemed absurd. His savior should be demanding that he listen to him given that Gazef owned his savor big time for saving his life, healing his injured subordinates and resurrecting those that had been killed.

Gazef opened his mouth to say that the request was something that he could comply with. He then quickly clamped his mouth shut about what was being asked of him. He couldn't be keep his superior, the King of the Re-Estize Kingdom, dark about what had happened at Carne Village and to his troops. On one hand, Gazef was honor-bound to comply with a favor for his savior to repay his life-debt, but he was also honor-bound to not lie to his liege lord.

"You understood what you ask, correct?" Gazef asked.

"Tell the king what he needs to know. He would only care that the threat to his kingdom is destroyed. Even if the king is benevolent and cares greatly about his subject, others might not react to the truth the same way. They may exploit the truth for their purposes." Shirou advised.

Gazef nodded his head. He understood. What his savior thought was correct. While the King, Lanposa III, cared about his subjects wellbeing greatly that was not the same as the nobility that was underneath the king. The majority of nobility would leap up to exploit the situation of Carne Village whatever possible if it were to their gain. The former members of the Sunlight Scripture were one example. They would possess state secrets of the Slane Theocracy that could be exploited.

"The king can be trusted. You have my word." Gazef promised.

Shirou sighed. While he trusted Gazef Stronoff as he seemed to be a trustworthy individual that would not go back on his word, the same couldn't be said if Gazef was forced to choose between keeping his word and serving his liege lord. Shirou had seen it many times where oaths to their superior superseded promises made. There was no telling in the future where Gazef may have to choose between the king and Carne Village, but she wanted to avoid such situation if possible. The problem was that Shirou could see that Gazef would remain unconvinced from anything she had to say from his stubborn look.

"If your trust in the king is that strong than I can only hope for the best."

"There is no need to worry. The king will learn of the truth and do nothing that shall negatively affect you. In fact, I believe that you shall be rewarded in your service to defeat a threat to the Kingdom and saving my life."

"Tell the king that I don't want any reward, but to be left unbothered."

"Then I shall relay your words to the king." Gazef spoke as he mounted his horse. "This is where I depart."

"Safe journeys to you, Gazef Stronoff." Shirou responded.

"May good fortune lay ahead the future of your village." The Royal Guard Captain spoke as kneed his horse and began to ride away into the distance with his troops.

Shirou Emiya kept watching until he was sure that Gazef and his troops were no longer within twenty kilometers of the village. He had been planning to keep watch for several more minutes until a voice spoke to him.

"Emiya-sama, what orders do you have?" Linda asked as she came to him fully armed and armored. Nigan soon joined them and also said the same thing.

There was silence as Shirou contemplated what to do. The first thing that he had been thinking of had been was to leave immediately Carne Village and wander the world he now found himself in. To look for information about if it was possible to return back to Earth and if that was impossible then to learn as much about the world he called the New World before deciding what to do with his life. That plan was put in hold when he had to think about what to do with the knights and mages that now swore themselves into his service. There were about 96 knights and 52 mages. 148 followers. All of them his responsibility.

Far too many people for him to feed by himself. He could enlist the help of his followers to help, but they were limited in their skillset. They had trained all their lives for one purposes and that one purpose was to fight. Only the mages had skills outside of fighting as they had varying level of skills in healing magecraft from healing wounds to curing poisons and illnesses.

"Have you gathered information from the villagers like I had asked?" Shirou inquired.

"It seems Carne Village is like any farming village. A village dedicated to the cultivation of food to their own sustenance and paying their surplus of corps as taxes. They are self-sufficient mostly, but what they cannot make or get their own is supplied by a peddler that comes by on a monthly basis." Nigan replied.

"My knights scouted the nearby area. No monsters were found, but there were signs of monsters nearby." Linda replied.

Shirou decided what he was going to do. Until he had the necessary funds to provide for himself and his followers for some extended period of time then he was going to use Carne Village as his base of operation to gather funds before he thought about doing anything.

"Listen carefully, the two of you. Here is what we are going to do…."

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	5. E-Rantel

**Chapter Five "E-Rantel"**

The Re-Estize Kingdom's city of E-Rantel was situated at the border between the Baharuth Empire and the Slane Theocracy. 3 layers of walls separated the city into zones, each having their own unique characteristics. The outermost walls were used by the Kingdom's military and thus had the necessary military equipment. The innermost wall housed the administrative zone. It had its own warehouses for food, and was heavily protected by soldiers. The zone in between these two areas was the residential area for civilians. E-Rantel was thus also known as the Fortress City because it was so heavily fortified and was home to a high number of soldiers, as well as being a bustling city full of civilians.

In the lively crowd, shop owners loudly shouted in an attempt to attract customers. Merchants haggled over the price of fresh ingredients; youths were being enticed by the fragrance of food. The plaza was incredibly lively in the day; the noisy and crowded atmosphere would carry on till sunset.

Suddenly, every eye in the plaza was drawn to a figure as it stood motionlessly near the entrance.

The figure was a male who was his prime of twenties. The corners of his eyes were sharp and shone with the brilliance of steel. His spiky, shiny white hair defied gravity and his snow-white skin glittered in the sun like pearls. What was most noticeable about him beside his physical characteristic was what he wore. He wore a body-fitting black leather armor that covered his body from neck down. He carried himself with dangerous air. The air of a warrior. His twin-tailed coat also helped aid to the aura of a warrior he projected for its colour seemed a result of so much blood being spilt on it to create a distinct crimson-red color.

He looked around and then started towards the building.

The crowd started to murmur as they watched the back of the figure fade into the distance. The rare sight surprised them but they felt no fear or wariness towards the unusual figure for individuals such as the figure they had seen were surprisingly common.

When the figure disappeared from the plaza and entered the building, everything reassumed like it had prior to the figure's appearance.

\- O -

Shirou silently opened the door and entered the five-story building in equal measure and looked around him. The interior was spacious. It was packed with armed individuals. How well armed the individuals were varied with each other, but they strongly depended on their method of fighting. He found that the quality of the fighters' equipment seemed very closely connected to the type of medallion they wore around their necks.

Adventurers. People who sought out the unknown, venturing around the world. That was the notion that Shirou associated with adventurers. But after questioning his new fanatic followers, he learned that adventuring was a practical and dull career. In short, adventurers were 'mercenaries who deal with monsters'. Some parts were similar to the adventurers that she was familiar with. They did explore the unknown for wealth and opportunity, but they were basically monster hunters. Differing from the adventurers of Earth to explore the unknown for fame, wealth and opportunity, the adventurers of the New World were strictly governed by laws and organizations with harsh consequences for failing to adhere to the regulations and orders of the authorities.

Those were the armed individuals before him, and within the room.

The medallions they wore around their necks determined their ranks as Adventurers. The ranks of Adventurers were determined by the following order: Copper, Bronze, Iron, Steel, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril and Adamantium. The higher up the Adventurer rank went, the lower the number of adventurers who had attained it, within the room.

While most of the Adventurers were ignorant of Shirou's entrance, those who did were of the higher rank such as Gold and above, or were those who were especially sensitive to sound and very aware of their surroundings. They looked at Shirou and accessed him.

"Does anyone recognize him?"

"No, I think he is new."

"He probably is. His medal is absent."

"You do know that hiding the medal is actually pretty common. It could be that you're embarrassed about your rank or want to remain conspicuous. Just leave him be."

The adventurers who noticed him began to make comments about Shirou and it caused others who hadn't to look at him. There were a few that paid no attention to Shirou because of various reasons, but most of the room within moments began to stare at him.

Shirou ignored the attention that he was getting and walked forward to one of the many receptionists behind a desk that happened to be within the room.

"I would like to register as an Adventurer of the Re-Estize Kingdom branch's Adventurer's Guild." Shirou spoke as he made her way in front of a female receptionist.

"Do you have any experience with fighting?" The receptionist asked as she glanced at Shirou.

"You don't have to worry about me being inexperienced. I have plenty of combat experience, and will demonstrate it if necessary." Shirou replied.

"No. No. You don't have be offended or demonstrate that you know how to fight. It was just a question that I am required to ask. There have been plenty of past cases where someone ended being seriously injured or killed because they hadn't been asked if they had any combat experience prior to the very first assignment they received." The receptionist apologized with a sorry expression. She quickly brought out a stack of paper and a quill. "Please fill this out be registered with the Adventurer's Guild."

The receptionist was about to say more when Shirou quickly snatched the papers out of her hands and began to fill in the provided forms. The provided forms were just like any that would was completed in when registering with an organization. Shirou filled the paperwork without delay.

"Done," said Shirou as he handed the forms back to the receptionist.

"…I didn't even get the chance to say that I will fill it out if you cannot read or write… It is rare to see an adventurer to be able to write or read…" The receptionist said in surprise. "Everything seems to be in working order." The receptionist spoke as she read through the paperwork that had been filled out. She carefully stacked the paperwork and placed it upon a neatly organized stack of paper before withdrawing an object from below the counter. Grabbing Shirou's hand and placing the object in his hand, the receptionist continued speaking with a proud smile. "Here is your medal. I hope you the best of lucks, Adventurer."

When Shirou looked at his hand was medallion just like all of the adventurers wore around their necks. Instead, his was metallic-red. Forged out of copper to symbolize his rank as a copper class adventurer. The medal itself was nothing special. It was made out of cheap metal and created without much care. What it represented was what made him think back.

"Man… This reminds me of my time playing YGGDRASIL…" Shirou muttered as he recalled the first job he got in YGGRDASIL and that was a basic job: Adventurer.

"You will find assignments on that noticeboard there," the receptionist pointed towards a gigantic noticeboard that took up an entire wall filled with paper.

Shirou thanked the receptionist and handed her a generous tip of ten coppers coins – enough money for three days worth of food.

When he walked up to the noticeboard, the words of the paper wasn't what caught his attention. It was the coloured circles that were stamped on the right hand corner of the posted paper. Likely the circle corresponded with the recommended adventurer level. He grabbed a random piece of paper from the noticeboard.

Approaching the counter of the receptionist that had helped him out, Shirou placed down the paper.

"I will take this request." Shirou spoke.

The receptionist looked puzzled by the paper placed before her and smiled awkwardly. "I am sorry, this job can only be undertaken by platinum class adventurers…"

"So, I was wrong… The stamps were not recommendations for the level of adventurer to undertake a request, but a pre-requisite?"

"That is correct," the receptionist replied as she nodded her head.

"Is this a rule in the guild or just formality?" Shirou asked.

"It is a rule. A rule that was created to prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths of naïve and overconfident adventurers."

"I am neither naïve or overconfident about my ability."

"Each request that the guild receives is carefully evaluated of the dangers and risks involved in filling out the request. The rule was created to protect adventurers." The receptionist bluntly replied in a nonsensical tone.

Shirou Emiya just sighed. It was obvious how the conversation was going to end if he didn't do something drastic and unexpected. Something like displaying his abilities that would differentiate him from the other adventurers. Once upon a time, he might have done something like that, but his time as an Enforcer of the Mage's Association and time as a YGGDRASIL player had taught him that power tended to attract the attention of the unsavory. It seemed that he was going to have to start from the lowest rung of the adventurers and work his way up if he didn't want to gain attention.

"Is there anything I need to do or is my registration as an adventurer all complete now?" Shirou asked.

"No, everything is done." The receptionist replied.

"Then thank you," said Shirou before he turned walk away.

"How about helping us with our work, then?" A voice spoke as Shirou was about to leave the adventurer's guild.

Shirou turned around to see a four-man adventurer team, their silver plates glittering on their necklaces, looking at him and what seemed like the leader of the group that had spoken to him.

"The job in question… it's a worthwhile assignment… right?"

"Mm — well, I feel it's worthwhile."

"Let's hear about the details then," said Shirou as he walked towards where the team sat.

"Please have a seat."

Shirou did as he was told. He looked at the group that had invited him over.

The men were all quite young, probably under twenty, but there was no childishness in them and they possessed a maturity which did not match their ages. Although they seemed to have seated themselves randomly around the table, judging by their distance and positioning, they could draw their weapons at any time. An unconscious display must have been a habit born from countless close encounters with death.

"Before we begin discussing the job, let us introduce ourselves."

The speaker was the man who looked like a warrior. He had the typical blond hair and blue eyes that Shirou had found out was very common amongst the human residents of the Re-Estize Kingdom, and while there were no other distinguishing features on him, he looked quite handsome.

"I'm the leader of the 'Swords of Darkness,' Peter Mauk. That fellow over there is the eyes and ears of our team, the ranger Lukrut Volve."

A leather-armored blond man nodded in acknowledgement, and his brown eyes seemed to have a spark of delight in them. He was slender and long-limbed, kind of like a spider, but his lean torso was wiry and muscular.

"Next is our magic caster and the brains of our group, Ninya, The Spellcaster."

"Pleased to meet you."

He was probably the youngest person in the group, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Though he was an adult, the smile on his face looked too youthful. Unlike the tanned skin of the group's other members, his skin was pale, and his face was the prettiest of the group's. It was more of an androgynous beauty than any masculine concept of attractiveness. His voice was higher-pitched than the others. While the others all wore armor, he wore a leather robe. However, Shirou could see that beneath the table he had various strange items in his belt, including oddly-shaped bottles and peculiar wooden objects and so on.

"...But Peter, can you not use that embarrassing nickname?"

"Eh? But it's a good one."

"That is nickname? It seems very generic to me. Why such a bland nickname?" Shirou asked, with no idea the nickname 'Spellcaster' could possibly have. _Maybe it has the same contation it does with the Mage's Association. A magic user that doesn't devote their lives in the research and development of magecraft, but someone that uses as a tool like my father and myself._

"He's a talent holder, and a genius magic caster." Peter explained.

"Oh…" Shirou murmured.

"It's nothing much, it's just that I happened to have a talent pertaining to that field…" Ninya said in a very embarrassed tone.

"Oh…" Shirou was even more interested, and he leaned forward, straining to listen.

What he had unknowingly come across perked his interest. A persona that had been born from spending too much time with Rin and other mages came forth. The persona that more on lines of what was expected from mages, a thirst for all knowledge related to magecraft that could possibly advance their magecraft.

Shirou quickly went through the knowledge that he had been able to gather from his followers and the villagers of Carne Village. About one in every two hundred people was born with a talent. While talent-holders were not rare, the abilities themselves varied greatly in potency and type. For instance, there were talents like being able to predict tomorrow's weather with seventy percent accuracy, the ability to strengthen summoned monsters, hastening the harvest by several days, using the magic of the dragons which once ruled this world, and so on. However, all of these were inborn abilities, which could not be chosen or changed. It was quite common to encounter situations where these abilities could not be applied. If someone was born with a talent that could improve the destructive power of their magic, but they never had the chance to become a magic caster, then their talent would be useless.

What caught Shirou's attention about what the New World called "Talent Holders" was that it seemed very similar to what mages knew as Origins. Origins was said to be the starting point that defines one's existence and directs one's actions throughout life. It is the driving force from the inside of the Root that managed to stream out of the Root and take material form. The form it can take at times is that of a human being, and all humans match their actions to be in harmony with the driving force that originated them from the moment they enter into the world. These actions are more along the lines of an inherent compulsion that could be called a person's instinct rather than a conscious decision.

His adoptive father was a great example of how Origins affected people. His father had the dual Origins known as Severing and Binding. His Origin often affected in his everyday life when doing hands-on work. While he can fix normal contraptions, he is not very skilled in working with delicate machinery. His unskilled hands suddenly cause everything to become the opposite, and the more he wants to fix something, the worse the damage becomes for the machine. He can use handcraft to piece together a snapped metal wire while still restoring the original function, but fixing a delicate electric circuit using the same principles will have fatal results. It is not something that will work as long as everything is connected, and if the connections are out of order, the circuit will lose its function. Rather than being caused by his personality or temperament, it is the true essence of the root deep within his soul.

There was also himself. His Origin of Sword made him incredible skilled with magecraft that dealt with the concept related to blades. It made him incredible difficult to learn and use other forms of magecraft that didn't revolve around blades, but it allowed him to use magecraft that few humans had ever achieved such as the ability to create copies of Noble Phantasms and the actualization of a Reality Marble.

Shirou shook his head as he remembered that he was getting sidetracked.

"I think his talent had something to do with being suited to studying magic, and he only took four years to learn what should have taken eight years. I'm not a magic user, so I'm not sure how great that is." Peter explained.

That statement made Shirou wonder about magecraft of the New World. Magecraft was something that required extensive training to be able to use. It took years of physical and mental preparation to safely use Magic Circuits without the risk of self-injury or death from the improper use of magecraft. After learning the foundations of magecraft and unlocking to safely use magic circuits without self-harm learning magic spells wasn't that too difficult as long as you knew what you were doing. It was like mathematics or any science. As long as you knew the equation or concept then it was possible just about any magic spell. On average, Shirou estimated that most mages could learn how to use most magic spells in a matter of days at worst. It was only when magecraft that was heading towards the territory of magic ritual such as magecraft that required more ten line incantation of the simplest magic rituals to the grand magic rituals like Heaven's Feel that it took months or even more to learn and gain the ability to use.

Unlimited Blade Works was a very personal example to Shirou. He, who had learned it from Counter Guardian EMIYA, one of his parallel counterparts in the multiverse, had taken ten years to create the foundations and another ten years to manifest Unlimited Blade Works.

Shirou wondered if Ninya was a very powerful mage or that the conventions of magecraft in the New World was different from Earth. He would have to investigate later. Now was to be listening to Peter.

"...I'm really lucky that I was born with this ability, because it allowed me to take a step closer to my dream. Without this power, I would have ended my days as a lowly peasant." Ninya muttered in gloomy and solemn tone.

As though to sweep away the grim air hanging over the room, Peter continued in a completely different tone. "Well, no matter what, you're still a famous talent-holder in this city."

"Still, there's people more famous than me."

"The leader of Blue Rose?"

"That person's famous too, but I was talking about someone within this city."

"You mean, Nfirea Bareare?!" The last person of the group¸ who had not yet been introduced yet, shouted.

"...And what sort of talent does that person have?" Shirou asked.

A look of surprise came over all four of them. Then they looked at him in shocked before they seemed to think that he was playing some kind of joke of them. A look that asked him, "are you serious?" Something that would seem was common knowledge.

"Guys, I think we can all conclude that he isn't joking," said Peter to his friends. "You are new to town given that you don't know who we are talking about. Right?"

"Indeed, that is correct. I only arrived today to E-Rantel." Shirou nodded his head.

"Then of course, you wouldn't know who we are talking about. He's a famous person in this town, but he's probably not that famous that distant cities. That might be why you know about him."

"Who is this man you're talking about?"

"As my friend has said, the person we are talking about is Nfirea Bareare. The grandson of a famous herbalist. His talent allows him to use any magic item. Not only can he use scrolls of a different spellcasting system from himself, he can even use items made by the non-human races. Even items restricted to those of royal blood shouldn't be a problem either."

Shirou's eyes widened at the statement he had just heard. The talent he heard about seemed incredible. The ability to use any magic item was in itself nearly unheard of to Shirou. Magic items in general needed knowledge and skill to use, unless they were specifically created for even unskilled magic users to be able to wield. One such Mystic Code that Shirou knew were the Kaleidoscicks, Magical Ruby and Sapphire, they were created by Zelretch, to be able to be used just about everyone and grant powerful magical abilities that even people that had no skill in magecraft could utilize.

Shirou, himself, kind of fitted the statement that Peter made about Nfirea. Afterall, he was able to use Noble Phantasms, crystalized legends of Heroic Spirits, that only the original owners of the Noble Phantasms should be able to use. If Nfirea could also do the same with Noble Phantasms as Shirou did then Nfirea Bare could potentially be a very dangerous foe or ally.

"Is something the matter?" Peter asked.

"Oh, no, it's fine, don't worry." Shirou replied as he shook his head. "Speaking of which, could you tell me about your last friend?"

"Yes. He's a druid – Dyne Woodwonder. He uses healing spells and magic that controls nature, and he's well versed in herbal lore. Let him know if there's anything wrong with your body; he has medicine that's good for stomach pains."

"Pleased to meet you!" The burly, barbaric-looking man with a full, bushy beard, greeted,

"My name is Shirou Emiya. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sword of Darkness." Shirou greeted back.

"Wonderful, I hope we'll get along," said Peter happily. "Now onto business… Our mission today is to exterminate monsters in the nearby area around E-Rantel."

"What sorts of monsters will we be exterminating?" Shirou asked.

"It changes all the time. Somedays it isn't even killing monsters, but regular animals such as wolves and bears. Other times it can be common goblins and orcs to even the rare orge." Dyne added.

"Sometimes, we don't even kill anything," said Ninya.

"So, it is a regularly requested task given to the adventurer's guild? To exterminate nearby monsters to prevent the loss of human lives and the interruption of commerce that flows into and out of E-Rantel." Shirou hypothesized.

"That is correct." Peter nodded. "That's how it is, Emiya-san. How about it? Want to lend us a hand?"

Shirou nodded his head. He was always out for mission such as extermination tasks. As a hero, he took any task that might save lives. And he was also getting the bonus of establishing a connection with team of adventurers. Something that he could hopefully nurture to establish connections with even larger and more powerful individuals and groups.

"I would be honored to help out." Shirou said as he held out his hand.

\- O -

Shirou Emiya quickly excused himself from the four-man adventurer team known as Sword of Darkness and found himself in a secluded area for himself. He drew out a small gem from his pockets and held it before him.

He activated the magic crystal. The magic crystal shone to life and created two images. A hologram of Nigan and Linda. His two subordinates that he had designated to lead the two groups of his followers. Nigan led the mages while Linda did with the knights.

"Shirou-sama," Linda and Nigan bowed their heads respectfully.

"Report," Shirou spoke.

"As you ordered, any monsters living in the vicinity of Carne Village have been exterminated." Linda reported.

"My mages have been construction of requested fortifications. So far, we have only been able to construct primitive defenses that have been created from raised earth. The construction of proper fortifications have began, but we are expected to complete a basic level of fortification by the end of the week." Nigan reported.

"That is good to hear," said Shirou, pleased with the reports. "How are the villagers faring? With your inclusion, Carne Village's population has exploded. Are they being able to provide the necessary sustenance, or have you been forced to buy supplies?"

"Shirou-sama, the villagers have more than enough food to feed us," said Nigan.

"I believe they shouldn't be any problems for now, but there might be issues in the future, Shirou-sama," said Linda.

"Explain," Shirou spoke.

"I worry that the villagers will not have enough food for the coming winter." Linda replied.

Shirou smiled. It seemed Linda had already established relationship with the villagers if she was concerned from them already given that she had been trying to kill them not to long ago. A good start that Shirou hoped would allow the villagers and his followers to get past the animosity they had for each other and come to work together.

"That shouldn't be a problem," said Shirou. "Nigan, how are the projects that I gave you is going?"

"This device you called as cooler has been a simple task given that all we had to do was create a box out of solid material such as wood or stone and put ice into it. The more complex device that you called the fridge has been more difficult. The magic array that you taught us is something that we have not encountered before. It will take some time before the mages and myself can create a flawless copy of the magic array that you taught us before we can create these fridges." Nigan reported.

"Oh, so that was the strange things that the villagers were talking about," said Linda. "Shirou-sama, what you have invented is marvelous. The coolers have made drinking cold beer and water a common treat!"

"Cold beer and water? Is that all what you think of what Shirou-sama has invented can do?!" Nigan said in displeased tone. "What Shirou-sama has invented is beyond that. His invention has delayed the rate in which food goes bad. Food that easily goes spoiled like meats and vegetables can last even longer thanks to him. In fact, what would have gone bad in a matter of days have been extended to a week thanks to the cooler. If we are able to create these fridges then starvation because of food going spoilt might become a thing of the past."

"Really?! Shirou-sama did you hear! You created something that might save countless human lives!" Linda said happily. "Did you receive a vision from your ancestors, the Six Great Gods?!"

Shirou Emiya cringed as the whole charade that he was a Godkin, a descendant of the so called Six Great Gods, were beginning to grate him. It had been a convenient excuse that Nigan had created to explain his powerful abilities, but the whole religious worship and fanaticism was starting to get to him. He was actually contemplating to actual dismiss the whole charade he was playing at it was becoming an annoyance.

 _No, it is more benefical to continue with this act…_ Shirou sighed. "Maybe…"

"Linda, calm down." Nigan scolded his comrade. "There is nothing else to report and anything that needs to be brought to your attention, Shirou-sama. Though, I must ask. Why must you pretend to be a lowly adventurer? Such a task is unworthy of you. Myself and any one of your followers are more than capable of doing your task in your place."

"I want to gather information with my own eyes and ears." Shirou replied. "If there is nothing more to report then I will be off."

"Take care, Shirou-sama." Nigan and Linda said.

"You too," said Shirou as he ceased the flow of prana that supplied the magic crystal to work and the holograms disappeared. "It is nearly time to meet Peter and his team at the east gate."

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	6. Adventuring

**Chapter Six "Adventuring"**

After leaving E-Rantel, the sun was at its zenith, and the Shirou and the Sword of Darkness could see a vast stretch of dense and primeval dark green forest in the distance. The thick tree trunks stood tall, while their leafy branches spread wide. Because light could not penetrate the depths of the forest, there was a feeling that they would be swallowed by the blackness. The gaps between the trees looked like a gaping maw waiting for prey to throw themselves into it.

Shirou was the only one out of the group that wasn't on edge for even the slightest sign of danger. Wild animals like wolves and bears were no threat to him. So too were the monsters that were normally seen around E-Rantel like goblins, orcs and ogres. Only something near the strength of a Servant or something similar had any chance to take him out.

"Emiya-san, you seem to be too relaxed…" Peter said in a very uncomfortable tone at how carefree Shirou seemed. "This stretch is a dangerous area."

"It'll be fine, don't worry," said Shirou in a confident tone that had been intended to reassure Peter, but it instead he seemed more concerned.

For the next several minutes, Shirou and the Sword of Darkness would continue to chat with each other with Shirou trying to make his comrades more relaxed and Peter trying to do the opposite with Shirou. Everyone continued to chat as they progressed forward, under the blazing sun that tanned the skin. Their boots were covered in the juices of trampled grass and smelled of plants.

As he watched everyone wiping their sweat, Shirou was extremely grateful for his clothes. His armor was made to not just to protect him from normal weapons like swords or bullets. It had also been created to resist weapons that also used temperature as a means of harm.

"Movement," Shirou said as he sensed something and he pointed in the general direction of where he sensed the movement from.

The Sword of Darkness readied themselves with weapons drawn, ready for a fight.

"Do you see anything?" Peter asked.

Shirou shook his head. The foliage of the forest blocked his sight, but he could easily resolve that issue. The first and most simple method was to jump up. The height would allow see past the foliage. He also knew several other methods, but Shirou reserved the need to do such a thing. Afterall, the reason why he was pretending to be a adventurer was to probe the abilities of the New World.

"What should we do?" Dyne asked.

"Fighting here is disadvantageous. The trees and foliage will block our vision to see if there are more attackers or anyone moving to attack us from the flank. We retreat to the plains. There we will have clear vision and not be worried either being ambushed by more enemies or flanked." Peter replied. "We shouldn't force our way in. If they don't leave the forest, we'll leave them alone."

"You heard, Peter! Let's retreat to the plains!" Dyne shouted to his comrades.

As they discussed their next move, there were movements in the forest, and then monsters slowly revealed themselves. There were fifteen creatures that were the size of children, surrounding six huge creatures.

The first group were the demihumans called Goblins.

Their twisted faces had flattened noses, while two fangs thrust forth from their ravening maws. Their skin was a bright brown, while their filthy, matted black hair looked like it had been styled by wax. They wore tattered clothes, which were a burnt sienna, though it was unknown whether it was dyed that color or stained that way by dirt. On top of that, they had fashioned tanned animal hides into a crude form of armor. Each held a wooden club in one hand and a small shield in the other. They were evil-looking monsters, born of the mating of human and apes.

The less numerous creatures were huge, roughly two hundred fifty to three hundred centimeters in height. Lower jaws jutted out from their chins. Heavily muscled arms as thick as tree trunks nearly dragged their hands on the ground due to their hunchbacked stance. They used logs as clubs, and wore animal skins around their waists. Tanned brown skin was covered in warts, while their muscular chests and bellies looked quite striking. At a glance, they looked to be very strong, and they resembled shaven, distorted chimpanzees. They were demihumans known as Ogres.

Almost all of them seemed to carry tattered bags. The monsters watched the adventurers warily as they advanced onto the grassy plains. They might have been some distance away, but there was an unmistakable hostility on their ugly faces.

"...There's quite a number of them. Looks like we can't avoid a fight."

"Mm, that's right. goblins and ogres are the kind who'll attack once they outnumber their opponents. Or rather, I should say that intelligent beings would probably not judge their opponents' strength simply by their numbers."

Shirou was half-listening to what was being said by the Sword of Darkness. Instead, he was more focused on the monsters themselves. This would be his first time fighting a non-human enemy. From experience he had honed from Earth as an Enforcer of the Mage's Association, Shirou deduced that the monsters were not a threat to him, but he didn't how dangerous they were for the normal human.

"Emiya-san?" Peter asked.

"I was listening this whole time. Retreat is not what I recommend. We don't know if the monsters before us operate by themselves or a group. If we were to retreat then they might contact their group and make our task of monster extermination in this area more difficult." Shirou replied.

"Fighting the monsters is also not wise. Fifteen goblins and six ogres are too much for us," said Dyne.

" _Trace On_ ," Shirou chanted, rather loudly.

There was rather no need to chant. He had long passed the need to need to chant that incantation when he used Tracing. When the Sword of Darkness looked at him in surprise, that was when his chanting served its purpose.

"You're a mage, Emiya-san?" Ninya asked in surprise, as he was the most surprised out of his group given that Shirou had looked like a warrior given his appearance.

"I am," Shirou said smugly before charging at the monsters.

The goblins and ogres felt that they were being looked down upon. They charged at Shirou in response with weapons drawn. The ogres were to first to reach Shirou as they were stronger and had longer strides because of their height. As they closed in on him, the ogres raised their clubs.

Kanshou and Bakuya were average in length when compared to most swords, but when compared to the massive clubs fashioned out of tree trunks that the ogres were using, they might have looked like a knife being brought into a swordfight. Given that Kanshou and Bakuya were vastly outmatched in the reach department, a normal person would've thought that Shirou would've been hit first before he could do anything to the ogres.

The onlookers had two opposing reactions. The adventurers watched in horror as they saw one of their comrades naively think he could take on ogres by himself and die as a result of his overconfidence. The goblins watched in morbid fascination at the murder of the human. What none onlookers was to see Shirou vanish in a blur. Only an afterimage of where Shirou had been last been seen and a gleam of reflected light could be seen. What they saw next made everyone staring and gaping in shock.

The ogre slid off and fell wetly to the ground, leaving its motionless lower body still standing. Yet, the spray of blood and organs and the vile stench that hung in the air proved that this was not an illusion. It had been cut diagonally in half. It was slain in a single blow. Not even an Ogre's mighty physique could save it from the fate of being cut in two. The scene didn't just include the death on a single ogre. All six ogres were dispatched in a similar fashion, but unlike the first ogre, they cut horizontally, some had been cut vertically and anything in between the two.

"...Amazing." Someone muttered those words, which carried clearly across the silent battlefield.

"...Absolutely incredible. This is beyond mithril or… no, could he be adamantium class adventurer?"

Cleaving a foe into two parts. That was not an impossible feat of arms. There were various factors that made the unbelievable act possible. The physical strength needed for the act was many times beyond that of a normal human can achieve. Swords skills of the highest caliber could only made such a clean cut possible. The swords used also had to incredible sharp and strong to be able to cut and survive the force applied to it.

It was not what made the factors of the unbelievable act what shocked the watching adventurers and goblins the most. What shocked them the most was that it was not just one ogre that had been killed so effortless, but six. The fact that Shirou had dispatched _six_ ogres so effortless showed that it hadn't been a miracle, but Shirou was so capable that he could do it again, several more times if need be that shocked the adventurers and goblins the most.

In the face of such an unbelievable sight, the goblins unconsciously stopped moving. Some of the goblins were still able to maintain the unconscious thought to slow down and stare at Shirou, but the other goblins were so shocked that their feet just stopped moving. They either tripped over or their body were dragged along the ground until their body's momentum came became zero. The goblins began backing off with looks of fear on their faces. Shirou strode forth, shrinking the distance between himself and the goblins.

"What's wrong? Not coming?' Shirou asked. His casual, relaxed words resounded through the battlefield. These simple words filled the goblins with fear. After all, they had seen with their own eyes the vast disparity between their own power and Shirou's. "…Then, as for the rest of you…"

Shirou stepped forward. The ugly faces of the goblins froze, and they retreated even faster.

"Run away! Run away!" The Goblins, who had watched this scene in stunned silence, began fleeing as they screamed in terror.

A devilish smirk grew on Shirou's face. A face that only the Peter and his team saw as the goblins were busy running for their lives without looking back. Then Shirou pointed his hand at the fleeing like it was a gun.

"Bang!" Shirou laughed.

What happened defied what the Sword of Darkness' expectations. The fleeing goblins seemingly vanished. Not vanish like they were teleported away, but engulfed in a large, fiery explosion that appeared and disappeared just as quickly. It was like the explosion swallowed the goblins. The adventurers would've thought what they had seen had been all an illusion if crater and burning grass wasn't all that was a reminder that the fleeing goblins and explosion.

"So powerful and fast… There was no incantation too…" Ninya said in awe as he witnessed such a powerful magic.

"Was that a sword…? That I swore…" Dyne asked as rubbed his eyes as if was ensure if his vision had witnessed something correctly.

"Yea, it was definitely a sword… instead of a ball of fire… it was a sword of all things…" Lukrut confirmed as he was a ranger and his vision was the best out of his team.

"Emiya-san! What was that?!" Peter shouted in amazement as he rushed over to Shirou. "Why didn't you demand more vehemently to be tested by an official of the guild? If you had and forced them to test your abilities then you wouldn't have been forced to become a lowly copper-class adventurer!"

"If money and fame had been my goal then I would've done that, but my goals are not those. The reason I became an adventurer was to see how strong, skilled and experienced people are in these lands," Shirou explained as he turned to face the Sword of Darkness. "This was a demonstration of my abilities, given that showing you was faster than explaining in words."

"Please teach me, Emiya-sensei!" Ninya shouted as he threw himself at Shirou in a hug.

"Ninya!" Dyne and Lukrut shouted in a scolding tone.

"No, it's fine," said Shirou. "In fact, I might as well teach everyone else a thing or two."

\- O -

Shirou and the Sword of Darkness began to set up camp. Although it was some time from dusk, the adventurers were already setting up camp. The wooden poles handed to Shirou and he erected them around the campsite. The poles went into four points around the campsite, and then thin, blackened ropes were tied around the poles, forming a perimeter. Finally, he tied a knot in one of the ropes and pulled it over to the tents, where they attached a big bell to it.

 _Primitive, but effective,_ Shirou thought impressed as he stepped back to observe the alarm system, which would let them know if anything was trying to creep upon the camp while the adventurers slept, that had been set up.

He cast his thoughts aside and calmly returned to his work. After hammering the four wooden poles into the ground, he tied the rope around them and then raised the tent over it.

"Thanks for your hard work," said Lukrut in a grateful tone.

"You, too," replied Shirou as he looked at all the food that Lukrut had cooked for everyone.

For a moment, Shirou was alarmed that a wave of magical energy washed over him until he recognized the presence of the magical energy. Shirou turned to see that Ninya, the mage of the Sword of Darkness, was pacing about the surroundings, incanting a spell as he went. He recognized what was being done as a fairly simple Bounded Field that any mage on Earth would learn began to manifest itself. A Bounded Field that would warn of any intruders.

As Ninya realised Shirou was staring at himself, he smiled and drew closer to Shirou.

"Ah, there's no need to watch me so intently. It must be pretty boring, right?" Ninya asked.

"I was just curious about your magical skills outside of combat, Ninya-san." Shirou replied.

"I'm probably far below Emiya-san… aren't I?" Ninya looked up at Shirou with unsure look.

"Kind of…" Shirou replied awkwardly as he didn't want to damage Ninya's already fragile confidence in his own magical abilities after seeing what Shirou was capable off.

"You're so skilled, Emiya-san. As a mage, swordsman and archer." Lukrut chimed in.

"Mm. Emiya-san, I think you have that talent. You're different from other people… kind of like you're not human at all…" Ninya said with a serious face.

"...Is that so? I am strong. I agree with that, but what strong am I compared to others in these lands?" Shirou asked as he recalled the martial prowess that Gazef Stronoff had displayed.

"It's just that after seeing you fight, you're clearly beyond the realm of humanity. Taking out an Ogre in one blow… No human is capable of that…" Lukrut commented.

"Lukrut has a point. A hero is someone who surpasses the realm of human possibility. I get that feeling from you too." Ninya agreed.

Shirou resisted the urge to laugh, but he did so internally. He certainly didn't surpass of human possibility. He was within it. Countless heroes, a great majority of their legends forgotten for except the a few like Hercules, had reached what was outside the realm of human ability, but that wasn't true. They were the pinnacle of human ability, not outside human possibility or there would be no such thing as Heroic Spirits. If any Heroic Spirit within the Throne of Heroes heard what Lukrut and Ninya thought about heroes, they would be insulted that they greatly underestimated humanity.

"Who knows? I might be a hero somewhere far away?" Shirou said in a half-serious and joking tone.

"You wish," said Lukrut as he laughed.

"I think he might be telling the truth…" Ninya said in a very serious tone. "Are you telling the truth… Emiya-san?"

Ninya's completely unexpected response made Shirou blink. When he looked at Ninya, he looked to see if Ninya responded that way because he was that sharp to come to that conclusion or if it had been purely a fluke. Shirou found Ninya's eyes shining with intelligence and concluded the reason why Ninya's friend had described at a genius to laugh magic at twice the rate it took for other mages was because of his intelligence.

"Wait… are you serious…?" Lukrut asked as he looked at Ninya, who nodded his head. "Now that I think about, Emiya-san is too skilled to be just any normal human. After we killed that first group of goblins and ogres, Emiya-san did stand in the back and gave us advise on how to become better while we hunted down monsters. Only a hero could be so talented to be so skilled in so many different fields of combat."

"You seem to know about magic," said Ninya. "I think my master would be eager to meet such a skilled and experienced mage such as yourself."

"Hmmhmmm…" Shirou hummed as he thought. "I actually wish to meet this master of yours. If it hasn't become obvious, I come from faraway lands. I became an adventurer to learn new things of these new and foreign lands that I find myself in. I have many questions related to magic practiced in these lands to ask to your master."

"Master would be honored. He is a scholar of the arcane arts unlike me, who uses magic for practical applications. I have no doubt in my mind that my Master will interrogate you about your knowledge of magic… heeheee…" Ninya laughed.

"Oi~ sorry to interrupt your conversation, but dinner's ready. Do you mind calling those three back here?" Lukrut called out.

"Let me go, Emiya-san." Ninya commented as he went to fetch his comrades that were still pitching up their tents.

When the group gathered for dinner the sun touched the horizon and the group had their dinner against the ruby radiance of its dying light. Dinner that was thick stew flavoured with bacon bits, as well as toasted bread, dried figs, walnuts, and other nuts.

"Mauk-san," Shirou called to Peter. "I recall your team name is Swords of Darkness, but I don't see a black blade among you…?"

On the topic of the group's weapons, Peter used a longsword with an ordinary enchantment, Lukrut favored the bow and arrow, Dyne used a mace, and Ninya used a staff. Peter's and Lukrut's backup shortsword were both blades, but neither of them had a color that was anywhere close to dark.

"Ah, so it's that kind of question." Lukrut smiled bitterly, as though someone had brought up an embarrassing memory. Ninya's face flushed bright red, a distinctly different color from the fire's glow.

"They're the swords of Ninya's dreams."

"Come on, that's enough, I was just being childish."

"That's nothing to feel bad about! It's important to have a great dream!"

"Give me a break Dyne, I'm serious."

Good-natured laughter accompanied Ninya's teasing by the other adventurers. Ninya, on the other hand, was so embarrassed that he was looking for a hole to crawl into. It would seem the name, Swords of Darkness, contained a secret that only its members knew.

"Well, the name 'Swords of Darkness' refers to the swords borne by one of the Thirteen Heroes." The smiling Peter stopped there, seemingly unwilling to go any further.

"What are they?" Shirou asked curiously.

"Emiya-san, you didn't know? …Well, it's not as though it's unforgivable. He was one of the Thirteen Heroes, but because people thought he had demonic ancestry, he ended up being more of an anti-hero instead. Therefore, his origins were covered up in the saga of the Thirteen Heroes… though I've heard that he was a very powerful person." Peter asked.

"The Swords of Darkness belonged to the man known as 'Black Knight.' It was one of the four swords he possessed. There was the demonic blade Kilineyram, which could emit dark energy, the blade of rot, Crocdabal, which inflicted wounds that would not heal, the fatal blade Sfeiz, which could kill with the merest scratch, as well as the evil blade Hyumilis, whose powers are unknown." Dyne explained.

Shirou became more curious about the Swords of Darkness that was being described to him. They sounded like Noble Phantasms, given that they were legendary weapons of a hero. A hero that had likely become a Heroic Spirit given how famous his legend was by the way the adventurers spoke about the Black Knight. After hearing the descriptions of the Sword of Darkness, Shirou looked into Unlimited Blade Works to see if he had any Mystic Codes or Noble Phantasms with the same or similar abilities as the Swords of Darkness. He was not surprised to find many weapons with the same or similar properties given that he had countless weapons.

The rest of the group continued talking. Their conversation radiating an air of camaraderie. Shirou remained silent most the time and only answered when questioned as observed the adventurers chatting happily in the campfire's light. They seemed very close to each other, but that was only to be expected of a group of comrades who trod the edge of life and death in each other's company.

His observation of the adventurer team, the Sword of Darkness, would've continued hadn't it been for his instincts telling him that he was in danger. His body reacted faster than his mind could. Shirou jumped back and when his mind was able to catch up to his actions he was about to shout out to the adventurers that they was danger. Before his mouth could open, Shirou was momentarily blinded by something bright.

Where there had once been camp with adventurers, there was nothing. Only long, narrow ditch that formed from the east and continued to the west. The size of the ditch becoming smaller the further it went to the west as if the thing that created the ditch was become weaker the further it travelled and unable to do anything but create a smaller the further it went.

"That was one ridiculously powerful magic spell…" Shirou muttered as he saw the lance of light that created the ditch to continue its path westward.

Shirou quickly turned his attention away from the lance of light that was disappearing into the distance and looked at where the Team Sword of Darkness once stood. Anger and sadness welled up. Anger at the one responsible for their deaths and sadness at the deaths of the ones that he had just started to become friends with. Those emotions quickly died as he had witnessed the deaths of too many that he had become somewhat numb to the deaths of humans. The only thing he could do now was to avenge the Team Sword of Darkness and stop whoever was responsible for their deaths from killing others.

Looking at the direction of where the lance of light had come from, Shirou saw figures in the distance moving around in rapid speed.

Shirou had to use Reinforcement on his eyes as the figures were several kilometers away and beyond what his incredible sharp, natural eyesight. There he saw ten humans. They were fighting a small girl.

To describe what the humans were fighting as small girl was grossly incorrect. She wasn't even human. He recognized her eyes immediately. Crimson eyes were not a special thing as many species commonly shared it, but the look he saw was something that only one group of species possessed. The creatures that descended from Type Moon and their creations. True Ancestors and their creations, Dead Apostles or more commonly known as vampires.

The humans were fighting beyond the standards of normal humans. They had the physical abilities that was reaching what low-class Servant with forgotten legends would possess. A formidable amount of power that each individual would be able to slaughter hundreds of humans soldiers or monsters singlehanded. Together the humans could slaughter thousands, but despite the incredible amount of power the humans possessed they were hardpressed in their fight against the vampire girl.

It was obvious what Shirou had to do.

" _Gae Bolg_!"

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	7. Shalltear Bloodfallen

**Chapter Seven "Shalltear Bloodfallen"**

Shirou analysed the equipment that the humans and the vampire used. Each person was attired in a full panoply of equipment which varied between each of them. Their gear was not simple and functional, but as decorative and unique as his own equipment. They looked quite potent at a glance. When he continued to look at them and activated his passive abilities that Unlimited Blade Works bestowed upon him, he was surprised to also find additional information that came to his mind. It was information not from his Reality Marble and the information was displaying data that made no sense in real life, but something not out place like a videogame such as YGGDRASIL.

The equipment of the humans used were the first thing that Shirou had seen since coming to the New World as Noble Phantasms. Actually, the Noble Phantasms that the humans were using were very different from a great deal of ones he knew. Most Noble Phantasms were used by one human and rarely more than two as Noble Phantasms were simple not just objects associated with a legendary hero, but it could also by an act associated with their legend. Nine Lives Blade Works and Godhand that belonged to Hercules was unique only to himself for his act of slaying the Hydra and the Twelve Labors of Hercules. It was nearly unheard save for a few Noble Phantasms to be associated with more than one hero.

Of course, there were exceptions to every rule. There was himself, who thanks to his Reality Marble, could copy and use Noble Phantasms for himself. Not all Noble Phantasms were associated with a legendary hero. It could also be associated with a group such as Fragarach, which could be used by the Fraga bloodline that Bazett belonged too.

What alarmed him was that he was seeing multiple Noble Phantasms wielded by each individual. It was not unheard of Heroic Spirits to wield more than one Noble Phantasms. While they were many Heroic Spirits that had made their name known for a single act that made them legends, they were many that known for numerous legendary acts.

Shirou quickly shook his head. The Noble Phantasms were recorded in his Reality Marble. He could discern the abilities and history of them on a later date. What he needed to do right now was concentrate on the battle before him. There was a threat before him and needed to be eliminate. He didn't forget that the Black Swords needed to be avenged.

He quickly brought forth a Mystic Code that he had encountered in his travels and embedded its concept into armor. His presence almost disappeared at once. A very potent, but small Bounded Field surrounded him. Shirou became effectively invisible from multiple methods of detection from the most often used method sight as light was warped around him. He didn't become invisible, but also untraceable to smell and hearing. It was a potent Mystic Code that he used, but it wasn't foolproof as there were methods to still detect his presence.

Some distance was placed between Shirou and where the fighting was targeting place. A distance that was far by the standards of mortals, but the standards that he used was far beyond that realm. He was someone, who had fought Servants, Dead Apostle Ancestors and the likes to come out alive and win. A distance of three kilometers was something that he placed between himself and the battlefield. The reason for the distance was many fold. The most important reason was so that Shirou could observe the entire battlefield, not just the combatants that were fighting, but any that might join in. He also used the distance in the event that he needed to attack.

Distance was one Shirou's greatest strength, especially against enemies that fought close up and large group of enemies. There were numerous Mystic Codes and Noble Phantasms stored within Unlimited Blade Works that could only be brought to full might when he had a fair amount of distance between himself and the target for it was either to potent that he would get himself injured or killed if there was no distance.

" _Trace On_ ," Shirou chanted as he brought a weapon into existence that personal experience had told him was most suited against even powerful being.

A long, crimson spear appeared in Shirou's hands. It was no ordinary spear for it was yielded by two legendary figures in Celtic legend. The first being Scáthach, the gatekeeper and queen of the Land of Shadows, and the second being, Cú Chulainn, the Hound of Ireland. Each user a legend in their own right to wield the spear with a long and bloody past known as Gae Bolg. A weapon that later became to mean "spear of mortal pain/death", "gapped/notched spear", or "belly spear" in Celtic.

He looked at the spear with mixed feelings as his heart shuddered as it remembered the phantom pain of it being pierced once. Shirou made silent prayers for what seemed times beyond count that he thanked Rin for saving his life. The spear was an incredible potent weapon even against those of incredible regeneration or immortality.

A massive, long black bow materialized in his left hand. The crimson spear began to shorten and thicken. It coiled itself into a spiral shape as it became more and more aerodynamic. Gae Bolg had transformed into from a massive spear into a notched sword-arrow as Shirou pulled the black longbow to full draw.

The shape of Gae Bolg was now suitable for him to fire like an arrow, the concept that gave its mystic properties had yet to change. The conceptual effect of Gae Bolg had to be altered as no longer was it "a spear that had already pierced the heart by reversing cause and effect," but "an arrow that had already pierced the heart by reversing cause and effect."

"Done," Shirou muttered as he finished the last modifications and checks.

He stabbed the modified Gae Bolg that he nicknamed "Gae Bolg II," following the designation that EMIYA had started when he had done something similar to Caladbolg and renamed it Caladbolg II. The legendary weapon easily stabbed into the ground as Shirou released his drawstring to give off a satisfying twang, signifying that it was in proper working order.

Shirou then returned to his full attention to the battlefield that he had only been half-attention to as he made his preparations.

The start of the battle had easily been in favor of the humans as had outnumbered the Vampire. They had used that advantage to great effect. Wounding the Vampire whatever opportunity provided itself. That didn't last for too long. At the start of the battle, they had been relatively unharmed before, but now were sporting all sorts minor and major wounds. Even in their wounded state, they were fighting and their teamwork was impressive, but it was obvious in who's favor the battle was going too.

The Vampire was powerful. Opportunities to attack the Vampire that had presented themselves often at the start of the battle, no longer appeared as often. It was like she was beginning to get familiar with how her human opponents fought and she was beginning to anticipate. This manifesting itself as the Vampire didn't give any of her human enemies anytime for respite for long. Depriving the humans from healing themselves with magic and potions or setting up the use of powerful magic or abilities that took some time before executing.

While her human opponents were begin to tire and accumulate wounds, the vampire seemed to never tire and her wounds healing thanks to magical enchantment of her lance.

Shirou made the decision. He believed that he had learned enough about the abilities of both sides. It was evident that the humans were going to lose at their current pace and it was reaching the point that it had been a miracle that none of the humans had died. To prevent the death of a human, he had to intervene now.

He quickly drew Gae Bolg from the ground and notched as he pulled the drawstring to its furthest.

" _Gae Bolg_!" Shirou chanted as released the sword-arrow.

The sword-arrow shot out of Shirou so much force that there was a loud boom. The very same sound to announce that it had broken through the sound barrier and also making a gigantic explosion of noise that made it seemed that Shirou had fired an artillery instead of firing a repurposed Noble Phantasm from a bow.

Gae Bolg left behind a red line as bits of magical energy made the red light. The crimson sword-arrow travelled so quickly that the spear itself was faster than the sound generated by its speed came later. The vampire and the humans were completely when they saw a red line and then something drilling through the vampire's chest where her heart would be located.

It didn't stop there. Parts of Gae Bolg shot through the vampire's body. Thousands of tiny barbs that pierced and shredded everything around the heart and began to spread. The rate of its spreading increased by the bloodstream that continued to move blood with the decreasing pressure, which moved blood around the body, that was rapidly declining with the destruction of the heart.

Red eyes glowed in shock before her hands reached for the crimson spear that pierced through her chest and kept in pinned to the ground. Even as she screamed as her insides were being shredded, she tried to extract the spear from her heart, but no avail. The spreading barbs wreaked havoc to the point that her body struggled with increasingly less movement as she tried to take out the object that pierced her heart and continued to damage her.

It was within moments that the red eyes faded and the vampire stopped moving.

There was a collective sigh as the human saw their enemy that they had been fighting for so long. An enemy that had been seemed invincible as she seemed to never run out of energy and her wounds disappeared.

"Captain?! What do we do?!" One of the humans shouted.

No more words needed to be said. The humans, despite how wounded or tired they were, quickly got into battle positions and looked for the one responsible for killing the vampire. Just because they had been helped didn't mean that their savior might not turn his attention on them. For all they knew their savior might have been taking out a rival and not to save them.

"Get out of there!" Shirou shouted.

The humans were confused by what they heard, but it soon became apparent when one of them noticed something. What the human saw before them defied what they could imagine. Common knowledge dictated that despite a vampire no longer being human, it would still die if its heart was pierced. Yet, somehow that common fact was turned into a false statement.

"Disperse!" The captain of the human shouted.

A barrage of objects soon smashed into the area and caused a succession of explosions, but not before the humans were able to safely escape the bombarded area.

The smoke created by the explosions and kicked up dust began to disperse as the bombardment ceased. What the human saw was something that they could believe.

"No way…"

"Even after that…?"

"What does it take to kill the vampire…?"

"We are retreating. The Cardinals must be informed of this threat," said the leader of the group.

There was no arguments. All of them had nearly avoided death several times because of their own personal prowess and the aid of each other. They were in no position to fight the enemy when they were wounded and tired. What they could only do was retreat and fight another day. Hopefully the intel that they had gathered on the vampire enough would make a difference if they were to fight again.

Each human nodded at each other. Then they all dispersed in every direction so that the vampire would have to chase one of them and couldn't kill all of them.

\- O -

Shalltear Bloodfallen growled in annoyance even as the smoke and kicked up dust caused by the explosions dispersed. She didn't even care to chase after the humans that she had been fighting run away. The vampire was lost in her thoughts as she thought.

She couldn't believe what had been happened. Her HP that had been constantly hovering around 100% thanks to multiple factors – such as her high HP, defensive stats, armor, resistance and passive health generation – even during the intense fight with the humans that had lasted several minutes. Somehow in one moment, her HP gone dropped all the way down to 0%, resulting in her death.

"Thank you, Peroroncino-sama," Shalltear muttered gratefully to her creator for bestowing her with a resurrection item.

The weapon before her made her shiver in fear, even if it had been for a moment. The crimson spear that pierced the ground and standing where she had only been moments ago had it not been for the revival item. She fought back the shiver and slapped herself.

"Shalltear, focus!" She shouted and then looked at the weapon for its stats. "What?! What is Gae Bolg doing here?!" Shalltear screamed in alarm as she prepared to fight and her eyes darted around.

Dread shot down her spine as she realized what danger she faced. Even she knew the legendary weapon. It was a legend amongst divine-tier weapons. A weapon wielded by legendary Cu Chulainn. An enemy that even she didn't want to fight as he was someone that surpassed her greatly. Shalltear recalled her creator talking amongst the other Supreme Beings how difficult it had been to slay Cu Chulainn even as a party as he was "too strong for a dungeon boss and should be nerfed." That memory made her even fear more for her own life.

She quickly summoned her wargear. Weapons, armor and accessories that she hadn't been using against the humans that hadn't been anyway dangerous as the individual known as Cú Chulainn. Shalltear felt the familiar weight of her spear, Spuit Lance, and crimson armor. The familiar weight of the gear that her creator had made placed her at ease as it was the same as her creator being with her.

" _Blazing Inferno_!" A masculine voice chanted.

There was the sound of sizzling, as though someone had thrown a burning torch into water. It looked as though the sun had risen on the land, dying everything in a brilliant white. The exothermic conflagration generated a rapidly-expanding wave of heat, which greedily consumed everything within its radius. Hell lasted only five seconds, but it felt dozens of times longer than that.

Eventually, the brilliant white world disappeared. In the wake of the vanishing pulse of superhot energy was a large circular area – vastly different from before. Nothing outside the area of effect was affected. The trees were still trees, the earth was as full of vitality as the forest, and the forest itself was untouched – an extremely normal world. In contrast, the area within the circular area was charred black, converted into a dead zone of jaw-dropping proportions. The awe-inspiring temperatures had consumed all the vegetation in the area, leaving only a few carbonized tree stumps. There were several vitrified areas on the ground which were still emitting smoke.

"Kakahaaah~ Kahaaaah~!" Shalltear began to laugh as her fear seemingly evaporated.

Shalltear was relieved. There was no need to be afraid. She saw who her attacker was. He was certainly not the person that she had been all scared for. The aura of confidence and power he radiated might have scared others, but not to her. She was after all someone who had seen true power. The power of her creator, Peroroncino-sama, and her fellow Supreme Beings. The silver haired man was nothing compared to them.

"That really hurt!" Shalltear giggled.

"What a troublesome foe I have," said the white haired man. "I was expecting you to die. There are not many, who could survive Gae Bolg."

Blood froze as Shalltear looked at the man with widened eyes. The fear that she had quickly banished began to creep back in full force. The casual way he spoke of Gae Bolg and the words he had said could be implied that he had been the one to use Gae Bolg. The man, who had killed her once was before her. Shalltear instantly readied herself.

 _Calm, Shalltear. He already used Gae Bolg,_ Shalltear said to herself as her eyes glanced over to where the crimson spear stood impaled into the ground. _There is no way he could use it without reaching for it. He would need to get the weapon into his hands and then wait for its skill to come off a extremely long cooldown before he could use the ability, Gae Bolg: Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death_. _I just need stop him from retrieving the weapon, and if I fail that than take him out before he can use the ability again._

Shalltear slowly walked forward, her footfalls fracturing the charred ground underneath. Step by step, she shrank the distance between her enemy and herself, the Spuit Lance in her hand cutting through the air as she charged.

Moving with a speed which put gales to shame, Shalltear charged, wreathed in bloodlust. The scorched ground exploded beneath her feet with every step she took. Shalltear aimed the tip of her lance at Shirou and thrusting forward. The lance charge was originally a technique used by mounted knights and made with the speed and weight of their mounts behind it. However, Shalltear's strike made with her extraordinary strength and her awesome speed, easily surpassed that attack.

The vampire was surprised when her enemy responded even faster than she had expected. He moved with such speed that he was a blur. So fast that Shalltear only saw her being deflected what had been an empty hand that was soon filled with a white saber. It didn't stop there. Her enemy quickly counter-attacked with an attack of his own as a black saber materialized into his other hand as he slashed at her.

Shalltear was blown away from the sheer force behind the attack.

" _Wall of Stone_ ," Shalltear chanted as stood back up from her downed state and held out an empty hand.

A vast wall of stone emerged from the ground, completely enveloping Shirou. The wall following swallowing its target began to bend, twist, and crumble until it was destroyed.

"Hold of Rib!" Shalltear followed up with another spell, massive ribs erupted from the earth and closed in on Shalltear like a bear trap.

The sharp points of white bone was supposed to bite deeply into the target body, but nothing like that happened. Flimsy, thin red cloth of red overcoat betrayed its true nature. It proved remarkably resilient, betraying its deceiving appearance as the sharpened bones shattered itself against his cloak.

Shalltear braced the Spuit Lance, narrowing her eyes at the white haired man before her. He was clearly very different from the humans that she had fought before her. She would estimate that their levels had been in 50's, but this human was a completely different stock from them. It was hard to guess how powerful that her enemy was as there was a variant of factors that played into how powerful someone was. From what she had seen at the bare minimum, her enemy was at least Level 80.

As she calmly considered this, Shalltear considered the current situation. She made the decision to expect the enemy to be at the very least as strong as a fellow Floor Guardian from Nazarick. That was what she assumed would be a safe estimate.

The enemy was clearly not a purely a warrior as he had used magic. He was a hybrid class that was a warrior and a mage. It was easy to deduce that he was good at fighting at close range as his strength and speed had been enough to easily move faster than she had been expecting and to send her flying back was no small feat. How of his strength and speed was purely from his stats or other sources like equipment, magic buffs and etc was unknown. How much of his power came from stamina and MP would be a factor that she needed to carefully watch.

 _A_ _drawn-out battle, it is until I learn more about my enemy._ Shalltear thought.

Shalltear gripped her divine class Spuit Lance. She was going to have play it safe. The weapon in her hand would ensure that she had least had a battle plan that she could also rely on. She might use all her MP for magic and exhaust all her skills, but Spuit Lance's lifesteal, the special ability to recover the wielder's health in proportion to how much damage it did to an opponent, would allow her to soldier on.

" _Mana Essence_ ," Shalltear muttered. A savage grin formed on her face. What she saw was something that greatly pleased her. The amount of MP that her enemy had was very low compared to her. At least half of what her maximum MP was. That made that she had the advantage of MP in the fight. Something that she could abuse.

" _Frozen Hell_ ," Shirou chanted.

The temperature in the area began to drop dramatically. Mist began to form in the area. Ice formed first on the greenery than on other surfaces where water was concentrated the most. Without warning shards of growing ice sprouted from the ground. Shalltear was not surprised when ice didn't just come out from the ground, but from every direction. Above and to her sides.

"Greater Teleportation." Shalltear chanted.

Shalltear let out a surprised gasp as the enemy that was supposed to be facing her with his back instead turned around and attacked her like he was expecting her to teleport and attempt to attack from his back.

She quickly assumed her mist form to evade the attack. A flurry of attacks passed through the mist that was her body and Shalltear was jolted with pain that she wasn't expecting. Something that shouldn't be possible as while it looked like her body had been transformed into mist, but in reality her body had been phased into the astral plane. Thus, she should have been safe from the attacks, but her HP went down.

"Naive!" The white haired man shouted as weapons specifically designed against spirits materialized in his hands and he threw them.

Black Keys that were specifically designed to be used against souls even in their astral state, found their mark on Shalltear's body. Wracked by agony, Shalltear terminated her mist form. She felt her lip split, and something soft and slippery escaped from within.

Shalltear quickly tried to put as much distance as she could between herself and the enemy as her body rematerialized. The enemy had become more troublesome with the appearance of Black Keys. While each one was not a potent weapon, they were against beings of her nature. Weapons that were effective against both spirits and the enemies of men.

Still, Shalltear's lips could not help but curl up in a smile. There were not many that she got to unleash her bloodlust upon as there were few enemies that she could fight without holding back. She would enjoy this fight and if she won then enjoy the blood of her enemy.

" _Hallowed Earth_."

Countless lances of earth erupted from the ground. The ivory spears assailed Shalltear from all directions, but instead of hitting her they hit a defensive, magical barrier. She heard the sound of what seemed like glass cracking, and Shalltear's protective barrier shattered with it. Scattered chips of bone flew in all directions, melting away into nothingness.

"Cheh!" Shalltear cursed in surprise. She had not expected this magic barrier — upon which she had spent a significant amount of mana to be broken in one move. Shalltear was unable to believe this as the attack on her continued.

"That is a very strange reaction from a Dead Apostle. Most of your kind like to flaunt how powerful they are by allowing themselves to be injured by wounds that would kill mortals and then strike fear into your enemy by demonstrating your regeneration from even the worst of injuries. Especially since tonight is when the full moon is out," said her enemy.

Shalltear stopped for a moment. She didn't think about her enemy, but what he had said. His words baffled her. The words "Dead Apostle" was something that she had never heard about or how her kind was referred. Yet, it was like he was expecting something more from her. As if he knew something more about her species that she didn't know. The confidence he held also seem to imply that the knowledge had not been gained from reading or hearing about it, but actually witness the ability that he talked about from himself.

"Or is that you're a newly fledged Dead Apostle? Wait… that doesn't make sense… You cannot be a newly born Dead Apostle… You were fighting several humans that were low-Servant level and they had Noble Phantasms. Only a powerful Dead Apostle or Dead Apostle Ancestor is capable of such a task. So why don't you know about that ability when it has already been used to resurrect you from Gae Bolg? Is that you're low on prana?" The white haired human mused.

"Greater Teleportation," Shalltear chanted as she hoped to position herself in a favorable position to attack. That position being above her enemy as he had anticipated her teleportation last time when she tried to attack from the back.

"Naïve!" The white haired human shouted.

Eyes widened in surprise as Shalltear found herself surrounded by whirling black and white sabers. She didn't transform herself into a mist as it had been proven that her enemy had weapons that could hurt even astralized beings. Shalltear twisted her body to avoid as many of the sabers as possible. A pained grunt was all the noise she made as she hopped back and saw several places where the sabers had cut through her armor.

"Who are you?!" Shalltear demanded. "I am Shalltear Bloodfallen, Floor Guardian of 1st, 2nd and 3rd Floors of the Great Tomb of Nazarick!"

"Shirou Emiya," the white haired man replied. "Don't think you can get away. _Wind Blades_."

Wind formed in sharpened blades came at incredible speeds, seeking blood.

Shalltear evoked an Impure Shockwave Shield. A wave of force, colored reddish-black like clotted blood, spread forth, disintegrating the blade-shaped wind upon contact. A demonstration of some of Shalltear's skills, which combined offense and defense.

She went on the offensive. A gigantic divine lance appeared in her hand. It was well over three meters long with an especially large head. The aura of purity it emanated proved that this was no ordinary weapon. It reflected the rays of the sun in its silver radiance, producing a beautiful and eye-catching display.

"You're not the only one that can summon weapons," Shalltear laughed. "Its name is the Purifying Javelin! Please enjoy it!"

Shalltear released the platinum lance as she laughed. She did not throw it like a javelin, but instead it rose by itself and darted out. A weapon which was guaranteed to hit if she spent additional MP. It did hit. The resulting action didn't occur as Shalltear had imagined her javelin to pierce through the light, leather breastplate that Shirou wore and out the other way of his chest.

"Is that all?" Shirou asked with a bemused smile as javelin glanced off his breastplate.

She summoned the gigantic lance to her hand again, and cast it forth once more. The lance travelled at another destination, this time at the shoulder that wasn't protected by the breastplate. Shirou was able to narrowly dodge, but the javelin's autotargeting property made it come around and cut at his forearm before he smashed it into pieces with Kanshou.

"Interesting…" Shirou muttered as he inspected the wound on his forearm. This was the first time he had been injured since coming to the New World and happened interested him greatly. He didn't do anything, yet his wounds healed. He made special note to investigate later.

" _Mana Essence_ ," Shalltear chanted as she inspected Shirou's MP and then she fought to suppress the laughter rising in her heart. She had been right to think that her enemy was a hybrid warrior-mage class. His MP was low and the rate in which her MP was at, she held the advantage that would soon become larger as warriors relied close combat in general. When his MP was depleted, she could maintain distance and bombard her enemy with magic until he was defeated.

" _Maximize Magic - Vermilion Nova_!" Shalltear chanted.

The crimson blaze engulfed Shirou. Yet, nothing of what Shalltear was expecting happened. The heat was so high that skin would melt off bone, but that was not what happened. Fire struggled to even cause burn marks before sizzling sound boomed and there was an explosion of must that obscured the area around where Shirou had once been standing.

Shalltear looked around to see where she would be attacked from. She detected nothing having coming out from the mist covered area. Words began to slip out of her mouth as she chanted. That was when she saw something in the mist. What started as a red light that eventually started to dye the heavy mist red. Curiosity did little to stop her from continuing her chant. It was obvious that her enemy was preparing something and she would act first.

" _Gae Bolg_!" Shalltear heard and her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw the crimson spear that had already killed her once, pierce through her chest again.

"No way… How…?" Shalltear gasped and she coughed out blood as she looked at where she had kept her eyes on Gae Bolg the entire time. It was still there standing where she last saw it struck in the ground, but somehow an exact replica of Gae Bolg was had pierced her heart once more and shredding her insides with the thousands of barbs spreading throughout her entire body.

Her eyes continued to stare at the two Gae Bolgs that she was seeing. Gae Bolg was a unique divine-class weapon. There was only supposed to be one. Only one weapon. A weapon that was highly sought after by the 41 Supreme Beings, whom had created Nazarick and all her inhabitants. The Supreme Being seeking it for the one-hit kill ability. So she was looking at an impossibility as there was only supposed to be one. There was also the supposed cooldown that could only be used a day. Somehow… her enemy had not just used it once in a day, but twice.

 _I must warn… Ainz-sama… Nazarick… Anybody of the danger this Shirou Emiya is_ , Shalltear thought as she felt her life drain away from her. _I cannot die here…. I have too…_

Any thoughts that Shalltear had disappeared when she heard the words, "Unlimited Blade Works," and she felt her body warping somewhere else like it did when she teleported.

A twilight from the extended horizon bathed her new surroundings. Green plains that never ended. Blades of all manner and types that stretched until the eye could see. All of them of extremely high quality. Craftmanship that was unmatched. Forged and adorned with material of the highest levels. Shalltear's blood froze as felt that each and every weapon was an incredible dangerous weapon that even the Supreme Being would pay limb to use. Weapons that matched even the strongest weapons in Nazarick's treasury.

 _No… I cannot die here… Ainz-sama!_ Shalltear thought before everything blackened out.

\- O -

"Woah… She was a good warm up. Not the strongest Dead Apostle I have fought. I bet she would've pushed me if the fight lasted longer as she got more serious…" Shirou sighed in relief as he dispatched the enemy before him. _I need to thank Rin for teaching me, High-Speed Incantation. Without it I would've been able to transport the Dead Apostle into my Reality Marble_. He then turned his attention to his surroundings. _Who is watching me? Could they be related to the Great Tomb of Nazarick that was recorded on the Dead Apostle's gear?_

Shirou surveyed his surroundings to see if there were any enemies nearby. He found none. No enemies or anything that could be a familiar or object that could be used to be observing him. So someone was using magecraft to watch the battlefield from a large distance like a telescope.

He quickly checked if there was anything left behind on the battlefield that might reveal more of his magecraft than was already revealed. Shirou had encountered mages in the past that could learn surprising deal amount the inner working of a mage's specialty like a detective investigating the crime scene. The last thing he needed was to find that his fight had revealed more about his abilities than he had displayed.

When he found nothing to give away more of his magecraft, Shirou quickly dismissed his Projections and made best speed to get away from the battlefield.

 _I wonder if I can still resurrect the Sword of Darkness? It might be impossible as there isn't a corpse, but I might try. And I need to report the Dead Apostle to the Adventurer's Guild._ Shirou thought as he left the battlefield behind.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	8. Brewing

**Chapter Eight "Brewing"**

"Is the report accurate?"

"The report is as accurate as anyone can get, your Holinesses," said the Captain of the Black Scripture. "This is the final version of the report that includes not just the details of what I saw, but everything else that my team saw and I cross-referenced with."

"Then this is no mere vampire that the Black Scripture encountered. No 'mere' vampire has the ability to hold back our strongest fighters."

"We will need to investigate this vampire thoroughly. Find out what makes her so powerful compared to the rest of her kin."

"You mentioned that someone allowed you to safely escape. Are you sure this individual was human? Not someone that used a method to disguise themselves as a human?"

"I cannot rule out the possibility that the individual that saved my team and I was not human. My savior is surely human as there would be no other reason for him to save us. He didn't even seek us out or remain on the battlefield for long before he took the corpse of the vampire." The Captain replied.

"The Captain's assumptions seem right. Who else but a human would help another human being? Non-humans might sometimes, but that is usually because of a motive. I see there being no motive given that their savior didn't even seek out the Black Scripture for a reward."

"Who would've have thought there was such a powerful human outside the Black Scripture. Yes, there are humans close or par with the Black Scriptures, but none have the full panoply of wargear like the Black Scripture does. Yet this human, according to the report, seemed to possess incredible powerful wargear."

"That is correct," the Captain nodded. "Our savior used two weapons. Twins, I believe. It had powerful ability to kill the vampire. Twice this ability was used to kill the vampire. It is a weapon that is peer to any equipment left behind by the Six Great Gods."

"This man… His name was Shirou Emiya correct?"

"That was the name that he provided the vampire. Unless it was a false name, it is the only name that we have to go on by besides his appearance." The Captain affirmed.

"We must recruit this young man into our ranks. Not only because of battle prowess, but imagine the potential that his lineage would possess. His strength will greatly help in the survival of humanity and his descendants could potentially be our greatest protectors."

"Then we must have the name, Shirou Emiya, and his appearance dispatched to every one of our spies so that they know who to keep an eye or ear out for."

"Agreed. Dispatch elements of the Windflower Scripture on observing and recruiting this young man."

"Is there anything else you require from me, your Holinesses?" The Captain asked.

"No, your presence is no longer required."

"Then I will take my leave," said the Captain as he bowed to the Cardinals before leaving the room.

The Captain sighed as he left the room. His duties in that room were over, he still had work to do. Back then, he was merely giving a report, but now he had to fulfill his responsibilities as the First Seat of the Black Scripture as its leader. This included everything that the highest military officer of a massive military unit had to do.

He was stretching his body while he walked down the hallways when his attention was drawn by a _clack-clack-clack_ sound. The Captain knew who had made that sound before he saw it. There were very few in the Slaine Theocracy who were permitted to enter this place, and when he thought about the people who were not present within the meeting room, the answer leapt out at him.

As he had expected, there was a girl leaning against a wall.

She had a unique hairstyle, with the left side being a different color from the right. One was a scintillating silver, while the other was an all-consuming black. The color of her eyes was similarly mismatched. Beside her was a war scythe that resembled a cross-shaped spear, leaning against the wall. Although she looked youthful, barely fifteen, her age did not correspond to her appearance at all. Ever since he had become the leader of the Black Scripture, the girl's looks had not changed at all.

He turned his eyes to the ears under her hair and quickly looked away. This was because he knew that the girl hated people looking at her ears. The girl's seductive lips formed into a curve, as though she were reading his mind.

She was a cross-blooded child born of nigh-impossible odds, the Black Scripture's Extra Seat, known as "Certain Death." She was a guardian, responsible for defending the _sanctum sanctorum_ of the Slaine Theocracy, the place where the relics of five gods were kept.

The sound he had heard came from the toy in her hands. In the Slaine Theocracy, it was called a "Rubik's Cube," and it had apparently been handed down from the Six Great Gods. The girl's voice blended with the _clack-clack-clack_ of its motions.

"One face is simple enough, but getting two faces right is hard," said Zesshi Zetsumei.

It was not difficult for him, but he had no idea if he should tell her that. In the end, he chose to smile bitterly by way of response. The girl did not seem to care about his answer and nonchalantly continued:

"What happened? Even the Cardinals showed up." Zetsumei asked.

"You were given a copy of the report, right?" The Captain replied.

"Didn't read it," Zetsumei replied without any hesitation. "Besides, asking someone who knows is faster. Did Thousand Mile Astrologer make a mistake? You were sent out to deal with the Catastrophe Dragon Lord… did something happen?"

Throughout all of this, the two of them had never met the other's gaze. The girl's attention was focused on the toy in her hand.

"...We engaged a vampire that was beyond anything that we had faced before. We fought it for hours, but only exhausted ourselves and got injured for the vampire was too powerful and her regenerative abilities allowed her to heal from any injuries we inflicted. So, we did the only logical thing we could do. Fall back." The Captain replied.

"Anything else? I am detecting something that you're hiding." Zetsumei asked.

"Not hiding, just I didn't mentioned it yet," said the Captain. "We encountered a human that was able to kill the vampire in a matter of minutes where my team had failed after hours."

Zetsumei paused playing with the rubix cube and look at the Captain with curiosity. "Hoh, that is impressive. A human that was able to defeat a vampire that the 1st to 12 Seats of the Black Scripture couldn't kill. Only something strongest and oldest vampires could have managed to play around with like that. So that monster wasn't a Vampire, then?" Could it be a Dragon Lord? The Vampire Dragon Lord or the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord?"

The curve of her lips widened, a clear smile. That is, if the look on her face, like a splash of blood, counted as a smile.

"...Aren't those two Dragons already dead?" The Captain asked in awkward tone.

"They're both undead Dragon Lords, so we don't know if they were really destroyed." The girl finally raised her head to look straight at him. Her mismatched eyes seemed to sparkle with what seemed like curiosity, delight, and battle-lust. "Who do you think is stronger? Myself and that Vampire or even the human that killed the vampire?"

"The human," said the Captain without thinking.

"What?" Zetsumei asked in shock as she didn't expect that kind of response. "What makes you say that?"

"The human, his name is Shirou Emiya, was able to kill the vampire in one hit. This was not just once as the vampire either had an ability or item to resurrect her. He managed to kill her twice." The Captain replied. "Whether Emiya used his own ability/magic or the ability of the weapon to kill the vampire is unknown. What is known is that he used a long, crimson spear of magical origin and shouted the words 'Gae Bolg' to kill the vampire twice."

"Good, good!" Zetsumei said in very eager tone. "I might be able to taste defeat."

As he heard her mutter to herself, he wondered, _Who would win, if Zetsumei and Emiya fought_?

He had exchanged blows with both Zetsumei and seen Emiya fight, and he felt that the Vampire was superior. However, that Vampire would not be able to defeat "Certain Death."

As he sank into thought, he heard the sound of giggling. Then, he frowned and looked towards its source.

"Let's talk about something else. When are you getting married?" Zetsumei asked.

That was one of the most brought up topics when he was around. In short, it was asking when he would find a suitable girlfriend. To put it nicely, they were talking about a marriage partner, but more crudely, she would be a baby-making machine.

"I haven't found anyone yet." The Captain replied.

"Hmm, because you're still young, huh?" Zetsumei asked.

When the Black Scripture moved out, their members wore magic masks to hide their identities. According to the laws laid down by the gods, the age of majority in the Slaine Theocracy was twenty, but after removing his mask, his true age was much lower than that figure.

"Granted, after you're married, your partner will be sequestered in a secret location within the Theocracy… but she'll still be able to raise your child."

"I know that. I _am_ a member of the Scriptures, you know."

"Oh yeah. Ah, still, you should probably tell your wife-to-be that you're going to take other wives. The law says it's fine, but they've all been brought up to dislike having multiple spouses."

The Slaine Theocracy permitted the practice of polygamy as long as the nation sanctioned it. This was a practice which had been grandfathered from a time when bloodlines had to be kept pure due to a lack of powerful entities. However, under normal circumstances, the standard practice was one man to one woman, and there were only a few cases where national sanction had been granted. Even when it was granted, one man could only have two wives.

"Thank you for your kind reminder, but as for you… don't you want to get married?"

He asked that question because she might have looked young, but her appearance did not match her actual age.

"Hmm, well, I could marry a man who could defeat me. I don't mind if he looks ugly or has a bad personality… or even if he wasn't human at all. After all, he's the man who beat me. How strong would our children be?"

\- O -

Gazef Stronoff drew up the hood of his cloak and stepped out into the rain. He ran through the light drizzle falling from the dark clouds above. The heavy rain soaked the outside of his cloak and weighed it down. He walked silently through the rain, passing several others who were similarly attired in wet-weather gear. While his cloak did provide him with a measure of protection from the rain, the sticky sensation of the wet cloth was uncomfortable against his skin. Gazef picked up the pace and hurried home.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he neared his home and freedom from his soaked cloak. Then something drew his attention.

A filthy man sat in an alley, heedless to the rain which shrouded the world like a veil, tucked inside an alley that was a short right turn away from the main road. The man's hair looked like it had been haphazardly dyed, and one could see the original color at the roots. His hair was plastered to his forehead by the rain and beaded with water droplets. His head was lowered, and his face could not be seen.

Gazef's attention was drawn to him because he was puzzled by how the man was not wearing any rain gear and seemed entirely unconcerned by the fact that he was thoroughly drenched. Something seemed to stand out about him – particularly his right hand, which drew his attention. The right hand clenched a weapon tightly, like a child clinging to his mother's hand. It seemed quite incongruous with the man's disheveled appearance. It was a weapon that hailed from the distant deserts of the south, a rare and precious treasure known as a Katana.

 _He's holding a sword… Is he a bandit? No… I'm not getting a feeling like that from him. He's nothing of the sort. It seems almost… nostalgic?_ Gazef wondered in confusion. He stopped to look at the man's profile. When he realised who he was looking at, the memories washed over him like the rising tide. "Don't tell me you're… Un-Unglaus?"Even as he said that, Gazef thought, _it can't be him?!_

Brain Unglaus. His opponent in the finals of the Kingdom's previous martial tournament. The image of the main who had fought so fiercely and so closely with him was still branded in Gazef's mind. He had been the strongest warrior Gazef had ever faced ever since he had taken up the sword. Perhaps that was merely wishful thinking on Gazef's part, but he considered Brain to be a worthy foe, and he could not forget the man's face. The emaciated profile of the man before him was roughly similar to that of his rival.

However, the man before he could not be the man that Gazef was thinking of.

His facial features were very similar. The years might have changed him, but Gazef could still recall the way he looked back then. However, the man in Gazef's memory did not have such a pathetic expression on his face. That man was absolutely confident in his swordsmanship and his fighting spirit burned like an inferno. He was nothing like this pathetic shell of a man.

Water splashing around him, Gazef walked towards the man in question. The man seemed to react to the sound, and slowly raised his head. Gazef drew in a breath. Seeing him head-on made him change his mind. There was no doubt that this man was Brain Unglaus, the genius swordsman. However, the Brain before him had lost the lustre of his past, and he was nothing more than a beaten dog.

Brain raise unsteadily to his feet. No warrior would ever permit themselves to move so sluggishly or lazily. Even an aged veteran would not act in that way. His eyes were downcast as he turned and left, his footsteps devoid of energy. His form shrank in the rain. Gazef was thought about just leaving the man behind. It wasn't the fast time he had seen someone fallen down on their luck and the man wasn't someone important to him.

Brushing aside his concern for the man he had once fought in the past, Gazef was about to leave when sudden he had the feeling that if he let Brain go now, he would never see him again.

"...Unglaus! Brain Unglaus!" Gazef shouted.

If the man had said, "You've got the wrong guy", Gazef would have told himself that he had merely seen someone who looked like him. However, a weak, thready voice, like the buzzing of a mosquito, filtered into Gazef's ears.

"Gazef... Stronoff?" It was an utterly lifeless voice. It was completely different from the voice of the Brain who had pointed his sword at him.

"What's going on? What happened to you?" Gazef asked in shock. _What on earth was going on?_

Any man could fall, no matter who they were. Gazef had seen many people like that. Those who wanted to run away from things and sought refuge in mediocrity often lost everything by making a single mistake. However, he could not connect people like that to Brain Unglaus, that genius swordsman. Perhaps he did not wish to admit that his strongest foe could have degenerated into someone like this.

Their eyes met. The kind of face that Gazef saw something that he hadn't ever thought of seeing from the man, who had once been his rival. His cheeks were hollow and there were dark circles under his eyes. Said eyes were lifeless and his face was pale. He looked like a corpse. No, a corpse would be better than the man before him. Unglaus looks like a zombie.

"...Stronoff. It's broken." Brain said in a voice barely hearable, but the devastation in his mind made Gazef concentrate on what Brain's words.

"What?" Gazef asked in confusion and that was when he looked at the sword in Brain's hand. And then, Gazef realized he had been mistaken. It was not his sword which was broken. It was Brain's spirit.

"Say, are we strong?" Brain asked in a soul-searching tone.

Gazef could not reply with the words "we are strong." He thought of the Carne Village incident. His strength was something that he was proud of. He was someone that was said to possess the strength of an entire battalion of regular human soldiers. That notion had changed when he was about to be killed by the Sunlight Scripture hadn't it been for the intervention of Shirou Emiya. The man known as the Strongest in the Kingdom was nothing compared to the a seemingly unknown figure appearing out of nowhere and saving his life. Gazef did not dare speak proudly of his strength when he had seen someone so much stronger than him.

Gazef did not know how Brain had interpreted his silence.

"Weak. We're so weak. We're only human, after all, and humans are weak. Our sword skills are trash. In the end we're nothing more than the inferior lifeforms known as human beings," said Brain in a distraught tone.

 _It was true; humans were weak._ Gazef grudgingly agreed in his thoughts. Then he remembered Shirou Emiya. A man, who was so powerful that Gazef thought the strength of legendary human heroes were just exaggerations and the wishful thinking of humanity's strength. "...I don't get it. Any warrior ought to know that, right? Humans have always been weak. Well, there are races stronger than ourselves. That's why we train to defeat them, no?"

Brain shook his head forcefully. It sent the water from his rain-soaked hair splashing in all directions. "No! That's not enough!" he shouted as though he were vomiting up his lifeblood.

The man before him finally began to resemble the image in Gazef's memories. He could sense something like the spirit Brain had shown while wielding his sword. However, the contents of what he said were at odds with that same spirit.

"Stronoff! You can't beat the truly powerful with any amount of training! Humans can't do it. That's the true meaning of power. Our feeble strength is nothing more than child's play to them. We're nothing more than kids playing at being warriors!" He seemed to have lost his cool as he faced Gazef. "...I say, Gazef. You're pretty confident in your sword skills, right? But… it's nothing but trash. You hold up your trash and think you can protect the people!"

"...Did you see something so powerful that it changed you?" Gazef asked as he thought about Shirou Emiya.

"I did. I experienced it. It was a height that no human could reach. Or no," Brain smiled, mocking himself. "I didn't even see the true heights of her power. I was too weak to even glimpse such a thing. She was just fooling around. What a joke."

"Then you should train harder, in the hopes of someday catching sight of it…"

Brain suddenly flared up, and his face twisted in anger. "You don't understand anything! The bodies of men can't hope to come close to that monster! Even the ultimate perfection of swordsmanship won't get you there, I'm sure of it! ...It's all useless. What was I even aiming for in the first place?"

Gazef had nothing to say. He had seen people with scarred souls like these before. Those were people who had lost all hope in life because their friends had died before them. Nobody could save them. Nobody else could help them. They had to pull themselves together and pick themselves up again. Otherwise there was no point in extending a helping hand to them.

"...Unglaus."

"...Listen to me, Stronoff. The strength of the sword is nothing. In the face of true power, it's nothing but trash."

Gazef could not see any sign of the heroic visage that had once been Brain.

"...I'm very glad to have met you at the end."

Gazef watched Brain leave with pained eyes. After seeing the pathetic and utterly broken remains of the man he had once considered his strongest rival, Gazef could no longer bring himself to call out to him. However, he said one thing before he left; one thing that Gazef could not pretend he had not heard.

"Now… I can die." Brain muttered as he weakly walked away.

"Wait! Hold on, Brain Unglaus!" Gazef shouted as it was clear that while he had meant someone that had inspired him to greater levels Brain had encountered the opposite.

A fire burned in Gazef's heart as he shouted after Brain. He stepped forward and seized Brain's shoulder. Brain's wobbly gait was nothing like it had been in the past. Even so, when Gazef pulled on his shoulder with all his might, he lost his balance, but did not fall. That was because he had trained his core well and his sense of balance was very good. That put Gazef somewhat at ease. His instincts told him that his rival's strength had not diminished. There was still hope. He could not watch a man die like that.

"...What are you doing?" Brain asked in confusion.

"Come to my house." Gazef said in serious look that bore at into Gazef with the intention that he didn't have a choice.

"Stop. Don't help me. I just want to die… I don't want to live in fear any more. I don't want to cower at shadows or think that someone's chasing me. I can't take reality any more. I don't want to admit that I swung a piece of trash around and thought I was actually someone." Brain said in a despiring tone as he lost the confidence to even value himself as worth living.

"Shut up. Follow me," said Gazef when in reality he dragged Brain. "You're going to change, you're going to eat, and then you're going straight to bed. Your opinion of yourself will change after hearing about the Carne Village incident."

\- O -

It was the middle of the night. There was a dark figure walking across E-Rantel's great cemetery. Dressed in a black hooded cape, the figure advanced in a stealthy manner. The figure's steps were so light that no one could hear the echo of its footsteps or how the figure seemed to fade in and out of existence like a ghost by using the mixture of the light and shadow.

After the shadow reached a shrine, it removed its hood. A young woman around twenty years old, at the peak of her youth, was revealed. Blonde haired but streaked with red that from a distance people might mistake her hair colour for orange at times. Her features were delicate, giving her a cat-like beauty. The beauty she possessed was the kind that most women would work all their lives to gain.

"I am finally here." The woman said in a joking tone, brushing her short blond bangs as she pushed the stone door of the shrine open.

Inside the shrine, the stone platform was filled with dead bodies. The shrine reeked with the smell of perfume; the kind that would be used to mask the smell of death and decay despite the measures used to prevent rotting as much as possible. The sweet smell irritated the woman's nose. She frowned in irritation as the smell began to get to her nose as she moved towards the stone platform.

"Hmmm-hmm-hmm." The woman hummed as she pressed an unremarkable marking below the seat.

When the marking was depressed, a clicking sound was heard, indicating that a gear had snapped into place. A heartbeat later, cracking sounds could be heard as the seat moved slowly, revealing stairs leading underground.

"Coming in." The woman dragged the ending of her words in a carefree manner and walked down the stairs.

Turning around the corner in the middle, she arrived in a vast space.

The walls and floor were damaged badly from the passage of time and the elements, but the fact that the walls and floor was still in working condition was testament to the level of solid construction that was only possible through by excellent craftsmen and equally worth construction material. The air wasn't stale; it was rather fresh from ventilation somewhere. Strange tapestries hung from the walls, with red candles made from blood below it, emitting a faint glow and the smell of charred blood. The flickering candle flame cast countless shadows. There were several caves, and all of them were reeked with the death.

The woman surveyed her surroundings until her eyes lingered on one spot.

"Hey. The person hiding over there, a guest is here." The man who was hiding in a dark corner and spying on her shuddered. "Hello. I am here to meet Kaji-chan, is he here?"

The man was at a loss on what to do, and started trembling when the sound of her voice became ever so closer to him.

"It's fine. You are dismissed." Another man, who suddenly stepped out into the open, spoke to the man hiding in the shadows.

He was a skinny man. His eyes were sunken in, and his complexion was completely different from a healthy person. He didn't have any hair on his body. Not only was he bald, he didn't even have any eyebrows or lashes. His appearance made it hard to judge his true age, but he couldn't be too old since his skin wasn't wrinkled. The man was dressed in a dark red robe and around his neck was a chain made from the bones of small animals. His hands were just bones covered with skin and in one of his hands, which had yellowish nails, he held a black staff. He looked more like an undead monster than a human.

"Hi, Kaji-chan."

The woman's casual tone made the man frown.

"Can you not call me that? It tarnishes the name of Zuranon."

Zuranon. It was a name that struck fear into the hearts of those who heard it. A powerful, and secret organization devoted in the research and application of necromancy. The fear that their name inspired was a result of experiments that had led of countless villages and towns, even a small city at one point. Fear was not associated with just the number of lives lost and property destroyed by the Zuranon. Zuranon had amongst their ranks some of the strongest magicians that humanity had to offer.

"Is that so…?"

The woman ignored the man's request to change her way of addressing him, causing his frown to deepen in displeasure.

"... So? Why are you here? If you plan to make trouble, I have my ways of dealing with you." The man squinted, gripping his staff tightly to emphasis his point.

"How mean, Kaji-chan. I came to bring you this."

The woman showed a cute smile while she searched for something under her cape. After finding the item, she happily held it out in her hand. It was a crown. Countless small jewels decorated the gold threads, like droplets on a spider web. It was a delicate artwork. The center of the crown – where the forehead should be when worn – was a large jewel, which looked like a black crystal.

"This is!" The man was tongue-tied. He was looking at it from a distance, but he was very sure this was the crown he saw a long time ago. "The Crown of Wisdom! Isn't this one of the greatest treasures of the Slane Theocracy?"

"I saw a cute girl wearing this strange crown, but since it didn't suit her I took it. But then I got a shock! She immediately went berserk." The woman kept laughing. "Hmmph, the cost to get that thing meant betraying the Black Scripture. The thing is trash. Not worth the cost. I should have taken one of the divine artifacts left behind by the Six Gods."

"Calling it trash is a bit–" The man called out the woman, who was posing and puffing her cheek out.

"But it is trash, right? Only woman can wear it, and they have meet a certain requirement: one of the mental and spiritual capacity beyond most humans."

"In it indeed worthless without having the necessary woman to use it, but that _doesn't_ make trash. No one has been able to make items of such caliber in centuries. The Crown of Wisdom itself was one of the items constructed by the Six Gods themselves. That makes it an object that most people would die to get their hands on." The man chided the woman for her lack of appreciation for what she had brought to him.

"No. You are absolutely incorrect. Those objects you know as the 'Great Treasures of the Slane Theocracy' are only items that the Six Gods happened to use before discarding. The true treasures of the Slane Theocracy is deeply guarded secret known only by the Black Scripture and only the greatest of the Black Scripture are allowed to use the equipment that the Six Gods used exclusively." The woman's carefree expression and chirpy tone suddenly morphed. She began to speak in a venomous voice and adopted a look of hatred that surprised the man. "It's impossible to steal those divine artifacts anyway. It's protected by the strongest monsters in the Black Scripture. They are atavistic bastard, who are so arrogant because the blood of the Six Gods runs in its veins, but they are the real things. It would stupid to recognize their titles as God-kin as exaggeration."

"Demigods... Are those guys that strong?" The man asked with a scholarly curiosity.

"Those guys are beyond the realm of being strong. Most people can only hypothesis how powerful they are, but I know their extent of their abilities myself. Each and every individual given the title of God-kin are one-man army and can change the tide of battle singlehandedly. It was said that if the God-kins were set loose on the other human and demi-human nations then most would surely fall before their might."

"Surely, you jest?"

"Sounds unbelievable, right? It's the truth. The only reason why they are not out to conquer the world in the name of the Six Gods is because they are tied down with constantly dealing in secret with threats that would cause mass panic and destruction."

"Who could be strong enough to tie down God-kin and require maintaining such secrecy? Even I, someone that has eyes and ears in many places, have never heard anything about this."

"How would you feel the very threats that are only told in myths and legends were still alive and kick? The legends about the Six Gods and the Eight Greedy Kings have ceased to exist and affect the mortal plane is true but not about the Evil Deities."

"You cannot be serious? The last of Evil Deities were said to be all killed off by the Thirteen Heroes."

"Sadly not true. It was the Slane Theocracy's propaganda using its immense resources and influence over the centuries that the truth was covered up. Many of the Evil Deities still exist to this day. The Thirteen Heroes killed only a small fraction of the Evil Deities. Secrecy has been maintained over the continued existence of the Evil Deities, and the God-kins are the ones dealing with them ever since the passing of the Thirteen Heroes." The woman clarified.

Without warning, Clementine disappeared. She closed the distance, striking with amazing speed. A blade shone as it stabbed towards Kajit's throat. But her target was no pushover either.

The pride of Zuranon, Kajit made up the twelve core members of Zuranon, wouldn't die just like that.

The tip of the sharp blade moved so fast for a frail magic user like Khajiit that he would have surely time die. A white wall that erupted from the ground. It was countless bones. Compacted in a way that it could easily negate the strength that mithril was renowned for and constructed to be light enough to be moved so quickly.

Feeling quite satisfied, Kajit glared at Clementine.

"Are you really here to deliver that object or a bait to lower my guard so you could kill me? If that had been the purpose then you have failed miserably."

"I don't care what you do with the Crown of Wisdom. All I care is having fun inflicting pain and watching my victims squirm as they beg before I murder them. Nothing invigorates my spirit than maiming and killing. If you create an undead army or massacre the living like your reputation suggests about you then fine. I am happy to help. When you create your undead army to massacre the living, I could main and kill to my hearts desire without anyone stopping me as they are too busy dealing with your undead army."

"Then I think you and I are going to be able to work with each other very well."

"If we are going to work together, who are you going to use to wear the Crown of Wisdom? To my knowledge, the Crown of Wisdom will elevate the user's magical strength to the point that they generate enough mana for the mass undead summoning that you are looking for to overwhelm E-Rantel."

"Oh, there is a boy by the name of Nfirea Bareare. He fits all the requirements for the Crown of Wisdom to be used in E-Rantel, except for his gender. That will easily be resolved with a special potion that I have."

"Tell me more about him then and this potions of yours."

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	9. Undead Army

**Chapter Nine "Undead Army"**

Brain's accumulated fatigue hit him all at once, and so he slept for almost a full day upon entering Gazef's home. He woke up to eat a little, and then went right back to bed.

He did not wish to admit it, but he could rest easy in Gazef's home because he felt safe there. He knew that even his rival Gazef could not endure a single blow from that Shalltear, yet the home of his former nemesis was now the safest place in the world for him. It relieved his tension and allowed him to sleep soundly.

Light fell across Brain's face through the slats of the louvred window. The light woke Brain from his dreamless sleep. He opened his eyes, but the piercing rays made him squint them again. He reached his hand out to block the sunlight.

Brain propped himself up on one arm and then swung his legs over so he was sitting on the side of the bed. He looked around the room like a frightened mouse. The plain room only had the bare minimum of furniture in it, and Brain's wargear was piled up in a corner of the room.

"Is this the room which the Kingdom's Warrior-Captain uses to receive guests?" Brain asked himself in disbelief as he stared around his one-time rival's home.

As Brain looked around the empty room, he let a few biting words fall from his lips as the lack of people put him at ease. Then, he stretched himself, and his joints made cracking noises as his stiff body relaxed and the blood circulated through his body once more. A huge yawn escaped him.

"...He must have let his people stay the night here in the past, no? They must have felt so disappointed."

The reason why royalty and nobility led such luxurious lives was not simply because they enjoyed it. It was also for vanity's sake; to protect their image. Similarly, when the men saw their leader's opulent lifestyle, it would spur their desire to make a name for themselves and give them motivation.

"...No, it's not my place to say such things," Brain mumbled.

Then he snorted; but it was directed at himself and not Gazef. It must have been because he had been pulled back from the brink of madness, the place where he had nearly been driven by those twin mental shocks. To think he would actually be thinking about such trivial matters. As Brain thought about that powerful monster, he found that he could not stop the tremors in his hand.

"As I thought…"

The terror which clung to his heart had not been removed yet.

Shalltear Bloodfallen. A figure of absolute power, one whom even Brain — who had abandoned everything else in pursuit of sword skills — could not possibly match. She was a monster among monsters; yet one whose looks were the sum total of all the beauty in the world. She was a person who wielded true power. A thrill of fear shot through his heart at the mere memory of her.

He had lived in constant terror of that monster's pursuit, and once he had reached the road to the Royal Capital he had not slept or even rested, only fleeing for his life. The spectre of Shalltear appeared before him when he did sleep, and the night seemed to take her shape as he ran along the roads. Crushed under this disquiet, he had not been able to get a good night's rest. All he could do was run like there was nothing else in the world for him. Brain had chosen to flee to the Royal Capital because he believed that he could lose himself among the masses of people there and throw her off his trail. However, he had not expected the heavy toll which his gruelling flight had taken on him, or the lack of self-preservation which had developed as a result.

Meeting Gazef was an unexpected development. Perhaps Brain imagined that Gazef could eliminate Shalltear, and so his legs had unconsciously brought him in search of his rival. Yet, he had not found his answer.

"What should I do now…"

He had nothing. He opened his hands, and they were empty. He looked at his wargear in the corner of the room. He had obtained a Katana in order to triumph over Gazef. Yet, what would he do after beating Gazef? He now knew that there was a being several orders of magnitude more powerful than himself. If he could not defeat said being, what was the point of triumphing over those who were beneath it?

"I should probably go take up the plow instead… it would probably be more meaningful."

Then, Brain sensed someone outside just as he was about to mock himself.

"Unglaus, are you awake? ...You should be, right?" That voice belonged to the owner of this home.

"Ah, Stronoff. I'm up. Please come in," said Brain.

The door opened and Gazef entered.

"You sure slept for a long time. I was shocked by how deeply you were sleeping." Gazef commented.

"Yeah, thanks for letting me be. Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. Tell me about what happened."

"...It's pretty bad, you know? You might end up like me."

"Even so, I have to listen."

Brain thus began his terrifying story about a seemingly invincible vampire known as Shalltear Bloodfallen. A battle that showed how weak he was, despite being called the equal to the man before him. The man known as the Strongest Warrior of the Kingdom and one of the few strongest humans in the surrounding countries. The battle that had shaken even a battle-hardened Brain and completely shattered his confidence in his own combat ability.

"I will not lie. If I had been in your position than I feel I would've been in the very same situation as yourself." Gazef admitted as he heard the story. "My original goal was trying to get your confidence back as a warrior, but it seems there is no need."

"What do you mean by that? You are speaking in riddles." Brain asked in a very confused tone.

"I received a letter addressed to me someone by the name, Shirou Emiya. In the letter, he asked how he should deal with a certain situation. A situation regarding a dead vampire that you were just talking about." Gazef replied.

"You are joking right, Gazef?! To belittle me for losing my nerve and becoming a shell of who I was. That I am a coward." Brain screamed as for a moment part of former self came back as he reached for katana.

"Do you think I am joking?" Gazef asked as responded to Brain's threat with his own power to remind Brain that he wasn't just any man, who was scared into submission. He was Gazef Stronoff, one of the strongest humans in the Kingdom and the surrounding countries.

"No, you don't seem to." Brain conceded as he saw how serious Gazef was. "I will not doubt you, but what about the letter sender."

"I know the letter sender. He was the one that saved my life from a politically organized assassination attempt." Gazef replied.

"What? When did this happen? How could I haven't heard about it?" Brain asked.

"You wouldn't have because it was all hushed up, but the people that tried to kill me were the nobles."

"Ahaaaa…." Brain nodded. "I heard about what they have been trying to since you became the Royal Guard Captain. They have been trying everything to get you discredited and kicked out. Only to succeed and never fail. The nobles were bound to have tried to assassinate you. Who did they send?"

"The Sunlight Scripture." Gazef replied bluntly.

"The…" Brain spat out in surprise. "The SUNLIGHT SCRIPTURE?!"

"Yes, indeed. The nobles must have promised the Slane Theocracy a lot for them to send one of their premier elite units after me. It wasn't a small number of elites too. They sent an entire company of elite mages and soldiers, numbering three hundred, to try and kill me."

"I know that you're strong, but we are talking about a specialized military unit for killing demi-humans. Beings that often have traits that make them superior to humans in one way or another. How did you survive?" Brain inquired.

"The sender of the letter. His name is Shirou Emiya. He saved me. His combat prowess and experience are nothing to sneeze at. He is stronger and more experienced than me, despite being a decade younger than me. In fact, I bet that the two of us, you and I, will not be enough to overcome the man," said Gazef in a serious tone that made even Brain take his word without compliant.

"If he is this strong as you say he is than I can believe the story that he might've been able to kill Shalltear Bloodfallen," Brain conceded and he was shocked that there was even a human out there that could kill such a powerful and invincible-like vampire. "Is he really a human than?"

"He is completely human. I am sure. He seems the closest things about the legendary human heroes we grow up hearing about."

"If he is as strong as the legendary heroes than yea it is very possible that the vampire could've been killed…" Brain admitted as he became accepting of the fact that there were humans that could take out something as powerful as Shalltear. "What did he say in his letter? What is this situation that you were talking about before."

"Emiya has told me that he is a newcomer to this region and that he has signed up as an adventurer. Currently he is a… copper-class adventurer," said Gazef with mixed tone.

"How the hell is someone so powerful, only copper-class?!" Brain shouted in disbelief.

"He is the humble kind, shunning fame." Gazef explained. "Getting back to your previous question. Emiya was asking several things. That if the news of the vampire has spread and if it has, how far. He is worried about the terror and panic that would spread if the vampire's existence was known. Thus, he is asking me as I am the Kingdom's Royal Guard Captain. I have access to the highest level of the Kingdom, the King."

"I don't have any of the connections that you have, but I didn't hear anything about any vampire on the streets," said Brain.

"Same, and I am talking about from my connections with the Kingdoms' upper echelon. So I presume, Emiya killed the vampire before it could attack anyone else." Gazef concluded.

"It's possible. When I fought the vampire it had been in the middle of nowhere. This Emiya you talk about might have killed the vampire not to long after I fought it." Brain suggested.

"Well that answers the first part of the letter," Gazef nodded. "The other questions that Emiya asked… many of them relied on the assumption fear and panic of the vampire. Given that the vampire is dead most of these questions no longer need anymore answering, but there is…"

"What?" Brain asked in annoyed tone as he felt Gazef was dragging out his words to aggravate him.

"He wants to help researching the vampire's corpse…"

"Study the vampire's corpse? Didn't you say he was a warrior? Why would he want to study the corpse of a vampire?" Brain asked in confused tone.

"He was a very talented fighter. Emiya was a mage and archer of a level that I have never seen or heard. I also saw various signs of a warrior. I would not be surprised if he happens to be a scholar or research too, given that he seemed so multi-talented." Gazef explained.

"How the hell?! You make him sound perfect…" Brain shouted in disbelief.

"…So are some of the legends, but I've met one of them already," said Gazef distantly as he looked at one of his rings on his hands.

"Who?" Brain asked as he stared at Gazef earnestly.

"Rigrit Bers Caurau, one of the Thirteen Heroes." Gazef replied.

"WHAT?! THAT OLD WOMAN WAS A MEMBER OF THE THIRTEEN HEROES?!" Brain shouted in disbelief.

"You know of her?" Gazef asked in interested tone.

"Ya, but after you told me, who she really was, I think she was only fighting me with a fraction of her strength." Brain said in disbelief.

"Anyway…" Gazef coughed. "I think will send over some experts and reading material that he requested… That reminds me. You seem to not believe me about Emiya or the vampire so much… Do you by any chance want to meet Shirou Emiya?"

\- O -

"Hmm…" Shirou hummed looked over to a certain part of the village.

He saw several villagers lined up in a row. There were men, women, and children of all ages. He could see a motherly-looking forty year old woman as well as teenagers. The one thing they had in common was the stern look on their faces, which might even be mistaken for hostility. It was a clear sign that nobody here was in the mood to play around.

The line of villagers slowly raised their bows. They were simple, shabby shortbows which looked warped and were probably self-made. After drawing their bows all the way back, they took aim at the strawmen some distance away. Someone must have given an order, because the villagers loosed as one. The bows looked crude, but the arrows they launched flew in beautiful trajectories. All of them struck the straw men, without a single miss.

"Not bad…" Shirou could not help but praise them, given how far they seemed to come since the villagers had first started training.

"Are they really that good?" Nigan, standing behind Shirou, expressed his doubt.

"You're right, Nigan. What they can do right now is hardly something to get excited over. However, ten days ago, they did not even know how to use a bow, much less know how to defend themselves. An impressive feat."

"We are here. They don't need to worry about for their own safety with us around to protect them. So why are they so training so diligently." Nigan asked in a puzzled tone.

"They don't trust you. You were the ones that tortured and killed them. The only reason why they are not out for your blood is for two reasons. All the injured or killed villagers were healed and resurrected. I personally promising that they will be safe as you're all my followers. The villagers want to be able to defend themselves from both you and any future threats that they might face." Shirou explained.

"I see…" Nigan said in enlightened manner. "Why are we still here? We should be in the Slane Theocracy, where we can bring the news you, Emiya-sama, is another awakened God-Kin. The whole country be celebrating and praying for your good health."

"Because I said so. We will return to the Slane Theocracy when I make the call." Shirou replied in a firm tone.

"Forgive me, Emiya-sama. I didn't mean to question your decision." Nigan bowed for forgiveness.

"It is alright, but please don't bring up that topic again. We will return to the Slane Theocracy one my word." Shirou waved at Nigan.

"Of course, Emiya-sama."

Shirou watched the villagers continued with their training. More arrows sailed through the air and penetrated targets. Seeing how the villagers were focused on getting stronger a thought came to him. How strong could they become?

He wasn't thinking in realistic terms. People didn't tend to become stronger over a short period of time. To become strong, it took months to see some tangible results. To see vast improvements that no one could deny took years. There were of course, exceptions such as himself, but his case was rare. He had undergone a rare magical phenomena that involved absorbing the combat ability and experience of a possible future self of himself, EMIYA, through soul resonance.

Except the world Shirou Emiya found himself, the New World, was not normal. For one, it seemed to possess traits that could be found in video games. The most obvious one was his health and mana bars and all manner of displays so commonly MMORPGs. He had found traits of not just MMORGPS, but things that Shirou swore was ripped out of YGGDRASIL of all games. At the same time, it seemed the rules of the material universe also seemed to be thrown together with what seemed like YGGDRASIL. A world that seemed to have influences YGGDRASIL incorporated into it like the laws of physics.

The normal conventions of becoming stronger out the window when the logic of video games was applied to the real world. In video games, a person could become a wholly different level of strength by defeating a being that was stronger than them with the aid of others. Something that should take years in real life, shortened potentially to a matter of minutes using video game logic.

That reminded Shirou. He consciously activated his HUD, and the icons that would appear on the computer screen when playing RPGs games. Shirou tapped on several icons to access his character stats. His stat page showed that he had attained the maximum level in YGGDRASIL, level 100. His excess XP bar was around ninety percent full. He was no longer playing YGGDRASIL and in some other world that seemed like the real world with some YGGDRASIL game concepts. So it was now possible might be able to level up to 101 if he filled up his remaining ten percent of the experience bar. Even go beyond.

Shirou's thinking came to abrupt end as dread came over him. He remembered the panoply of wargear that the Black Scripture, the humans that had been fighting Shalltear before he had killed the Dead Apostle, had worn. The original and first users of the Black Scripture's wargear had been individuals that were not from this world, the New World. They had been like him. Players of YGGDRASIL. They had become the Six Gods, whom had created and worshipped in the Slane Theocracy about six centuries ago. If they were still alive and it was possible to go beyond Level 100 then he was in a big fight if he had to fight any of the Six Gods as they had six centuries to powerlevel. That also not counting their followers that the Six Gods had powerleveled others using the power of the Six Gods – i.e. helping them with the abilities of powerful players in order to gain experience faster than normal.

The fact that the Slane Theocracy had not yet taken over the world might be because there were other beings of the same calibre lying in wait. Who knew how many level 100s and above existed in the New World.

 _How stupid am I?!_ Shirou berated himself mentally. _Why am I limiting myself to thinking the way I had while playing YGGDRASIL! The gaming mechanics and placing for gameplay purpose don't apply to the New World that happens to obey the laws of the material universe. I have fought being more stronger in real life than myself such as Dead Apostle Ancestors and come out victorious._

"Emiya-sama, how does it look? The training that you instructed for me and my subordinates to offer to the villagers?" Linda asked as she walked towards Shirou and Nigan.

"It is rather impressive the level of improvements that the villagers had made since the start," Shirou complimented. "How is training of your own troops going? Are you having difficulties with training and fighting manuals that I had provided?"

"I never knew there were so many ways of training and fighting. What is not optimal method or how to reduce the odds of losing. The concept of guerilla warfare has caught my attention the most." Linda replied eagerly and as if she had been enlightened.

"That is good to hear… but I asked how the training is going…" Shirou replied with polite smile.

"Please, forgive me, Emiya-sama." Linda bowed her head. Shirou was about to open his mouth to say that bowing to him was unnecessary, but he gave up when he remembered how many times he had tried to get his new 'followers' to stop with that. "The training is proceeding, but the results are not happening as expected. We are spending more time trying to unlearn old habits before we can learn from the learning material you had provided."

"Tell your subordinates not to rush. I would rather that you fully master one skill than partial learn one thing in an attempt to learn as much as possible."

"Of course, Emiya-sama."

"Then if you have nothing more to report than I will must return to E-Rantel. Continue with the plans I have provided. If anything happens and needs my attention contact by via the amulets that I had provided," said Shirou before he disappeared.

\- O -

"Are you looking around for me?" An aged one asked.

"And who might you be?" Shirou replied respectfully as he turned around.

"My name is Lizzie Bareare. The pharmacist of the store that you're in front." The elderly woman replied.

"That would be correct," said Shirou. "My name is Shirou Emiya."

"Then, please come in," said Lizzie as took out her keys. Then, she looked down, and pushed. The door swung open, without any resistance. "What's this? The store is unlocked. This is too careless of my grandson." Lizzie muttered to herself as she entered the shop. Shirou followed her in."Nfirea, a late-night customer is here."

Lizzie's voice echoed through the shop, but it was silent. It felt as though there was nobody there. She let out a muffled voice as Shirou covered her mouth and looked up at him with a questioning look.

"Bareare-san, please remain quiet." Shirou whispered and then he let his hands off Lizzie's mouth.

"What happened?" Lizzie asked quietly.

"Trouble," Shirou replied. Lizzie frowned in confusion. "Do you see the herbs that are on the ground and stepped upon?" Lizzie nodded but was confused to what Shirou was getting at. "Any self-respecting pharmacist wouldn't let herbs go to waste. The herbs should be put away in a container or hanging from rack. So why are there some wasted by being on the ground and stepped on?"

"I don't know. What does that have anything to do with all the caution that you are showing?" Lizzie whispered.

Shirou drew his weapons and entered the store. He kicked the door open and kept to the right as he went in. Though this was a stranger's house, completely unfamiliar to him, there was no trace of hesitation in Shirou's footsteps.

"What, what are you doing!?" Lizzie shouted.

"Please don't come in. A thief or someone armed may be inside. If you come in I cannot guarantee your safety." Shirou shouted.

He rushed in where he detected a smell that was not of herbs. It was a scent that he was intimiately familiar with his experience on the battlefield. It was acrid odour. The stench of blood. He smashed through several doors and navigated through rooms until he found a room where it had many things out of place.

"It is safe to come in," said Shirou as he went outside the store to get Lizzie. "You might want to see this." Shirou spoke as he escorted Lizzie inside the store and to a particular room.

"This, what is this…?" A surprised Lizzie asked as she looked at the room.

"Do you have any enemies? People that might to kidnap or kill someone from this store?" Shirou asked.

"Not enemies that will result to violence. I only have business rivals, who might resort to spying and sabotage. The usual business methods to get an advantage over a business rival. At least to my knowledge. I have no enemies that would try to kidnap or kill me or anyone that works in my store." Lizzie replied then she suddenly began to panic. "My grandson! Nfirea's gone!"

"Do you have anything that belongs to your grandson? Something that he uses or wears a lot is the best." Shirou asked in a calming voice.

"I do! I do! Here is his pharmacist equipment," said Lizzie in a desperate tone as she drugged Shirou to a work station. "Do you know a spell or have an item that can track my grandson?!"

"I do, but they all need time to prepare or might have prepared counter-methods to thwart any methods I might have to track them. Sometimes the simplest method is best," said Shirou as he began to sniff around the workstation.

"Do you have some demi-human ancestry…?" Lizzie asked with mixed tone, curiously and hint of fear.

"No," Shirou shook his head. "Please think carefully… Any bit of information may help me in finding whoever kidnapped your grandson."

"I have told you. I cannot think of any enemies that would kidnap my grandson or anyone working in my store."

"Let us not think about the reasons being connected to you, your family or business. What about your grandson? Does he have some particular talent or skill that make him an ideal target to kidnap?"

"He does have a born talent to use just about any magical object and use them with a surprising degree of skill even if he hadn't ever touched it before, sometimes even surpassing the original user."

Shirou's blood went cold. That was an incredible potent talent that Shirou had just heard. Under the right circumstances, it could make Nfirea a very powerful warrior or mage. It sounded eerily similar to part of his own ability, minus making copies and reading the history of objects. If Nfirea was able to get his hands on a powerful Mystic Code or even a Noble Phantasm, there was no telling how dangerous he could become in the future. That just limiting himself to Nfirea as a fighter. He could serve as a powerful support role. Healer, alchemist and anything that didn't involve fighting. There was no way he was going to let someone use Nfirea for malevolent purposes. If Nfirea couldn't be saved, Shirou would have to eliminate him for the greater good.

"How about hiring us?" Shirou asked without even thinking. A habit that had been drilled into him by Rin to make it seem that he wasn't always doing things out of his own good will and to deter others from taking advantage of him.

Lizzie looked angrily at Shirou, but understood where he was coming from. Most people would help others in times of need, but not often if that included risking their own life. They needed an incentive to risk their one and only life.

"How much?" Lizzie asked.

"Let us discuss the price another time. The more time I waste not looking for your grandson, the more time for the kidnappers to get away."

\- O -

There was a place which occupied roughly a quarter of E-Rantel's outer ring, which was also most of the western quadrant. It was E-Rantel's communal cemetery. While other cities had their own graveyards, none of them were as big as this one. This was in order to suppress the spawning of the undead.

Although many things were unclear about the spontaneous genesis of the undead, the basic idea was that vile creatures frequently spawned from the places where the living came to an end. Of these, people who died sudden, violent deaths and the dead who were not properly revered had the highest chance of coming back to unlife. Therefore, battlefields and ruins tended to be infested by the undead.

Since E-Rantel was very close to the Empire and consequently its battlefields, it required a huge graveyard. A place where remains could receive the proper veneration. In this aspect, the neighboring country, the Empire, also adhered to their common agreement to respect the dead. Though they slaughtered each other, they both saw the undead that attacked the living as their common enemy.

In addition, there was another problem with the undead. If left unattended, the undead spawned more powerful undead. This was why the city guards and adventurers patrolled the graveyards day and night to exterminate the weaker undead as soon as possible.

A wall surrounded the graveyard. This wall was the boundary between the living and dead. While it was only four meters tall and could not compare to the city walls, it was wide enough for people to walk on top of it. The large doors set into its side were sturdy and could not be easily breached. All this was in order to ward against the undead that spawned in the graveyard.

There were staircases to the left and right of the doors, and watchtowers along the length of the wall. The guards took turns observing the graveyard below them as they yawned from the watchtowers, in shifts of five men at a time. The graveyard was lined with sconces enchanted with Continual Light spells, so there was ample illumination despite it being nighttime. Still, there were many shadowy places, and visibility was even worse in those places blocked by tombstones.

A spear-wielding guard absentmindedly looked out to the graveyard, and said to his yawning colleague. "Tonight's quite peaceful too."

"Yup, there were only five Skeletons earlier, right? That seems a lot less compared to the past."

"Hm, could it be the souls of the dead were called back by the Four Gods? That would be pretty lucky for us if it were true."

The other guards were drawn in by the topic, and began speaking up.

"Well, if it's just Skeletons and Zombies we can deal with them. Still, it's a pain to take out Skeletons with a spear."

"I think the most troublesome ones are the Wights."

"For me it's the Skeleton Centipedes. I'd be dead by now if the adventurers standing guard nearby didn't chase them away from me."

"Skeleton Centipedes? I heard that the powerful undead only show up when you let the weak ones get away. So all you need to do is kill them all when they're weak and the strong undead won't appear."

"Yes, that's right. The captain chewed out the squad patrolling the graveyard last week. While it's nice to have them buy a round for us, I'd rather not have to go through that sort of thing again."

"Still… when I think about it, I've got a bad feeling about the lack of undead right now."

"…Why's that?"

"Ah, I just feel like we might have missed something out during our watches."

"You're thinking too much. There aren't that many undead normally. They say that they only pop up frequently when they bury the corpses of the people who died while fighting the Empire. So on the flip side, this is what happens when there aren't any big wars, right?"

The soldiers nodded to each other in agreement. They had buried human corpses in their own villages, but they had never heard of the undead appearing that often.

"…So that means the Katze Plains must be pretty insane."

"Yeah, didn't they say something about an unimaginably strong undead creature showing up?"

It was a place where the Empire and the Kingdom clashed in fierce battles. It was also a place famous for the proliferation of its undead. Adventurers hired by the Kingdom and Imperial knights would often go there to hunt down the undead. This task was important enough that the Empire and Kingdom's support corps had built small towns nearby to support their personnel.

"I heard—" A guard who was about to speak suddenly shut his mouth.

Another guard, who felt easy about this, spoke up. "Oi, don't scare me—":

"Quiet!"

The silent guard looked straight at the graveyard, as though he could see through the darkness. Following this, the other guards turned to look at the graveyard one after the other.

"…Didn't you hear it?"

"Were you imagining things?"

"Though I didn't hear the wind blowing or the grass moving… I think I can smell dirt. Didn't they dig a few graves just now? It smells just like it did then…"

"Come on, don't joke about this sort of thing."

"…Eh? Ah, oi! Look over there!"

One of the guards pointed to the graveyard, and everyone else looked toward the spot he was pointing at. Two guards were sprinting for the doors. Both of them panted heavily, their eyes bloodshot, and their sweat-slick hair stuck to their foreheads.

A growing sense of dread filled the other guards as they saw this. Guard patrols in the graveyard moved in groups of at least ten. Why were there only two people here? Judging by the way they had no weapons and were running for dear life, they had panicked and fled.

"Open, open up! Hurry up and open the doors!"

Upon seeing the two men shouting in front of the doors, the guards hurriedly ran down the stairs and let them through. Before the doors could even swing fully open, the two guards forced their way in. They collapsed to the ground but kept scrabbling on.

"What the hell…"

The two pale-faced guards who had just escaped the graveyard interrupted their questioners, panting and shouting:

"Close, close the doors! Quickly!"

This strange behavior sent a chill down the spine of the other guards. Working together, they pushed the doors shut and barred them.

"What happened? What about the others?"

As they heard this question, a haunted look appeared on the guards' frightened faces.

"They, they were eaten by the undead!"

Upon realizing that eight of their fellows had lost their lives, the guards immediately turned to their captain. He immediately ordered. "…Oi, one of you go upstairs and take a look!"

A guard hurriedly climbed the stairs, but halfway up, he froze in place.

"What, what happened?"

The trembling guard shouted. "The undead! The undead are everywhere!"

If one listened carefully, they would be able to make out a sound which sounded like ten thousand horses galloping, coming from the other side of the wall. Everyone, not just the guard from just now, were struck dumb by the scene before them. A massive quantity of undead, so great as to render all who saw it speechless, approached the doors of the graveyard.

"Why, in such numbers…"

"Looks like it's more than one or two hundred… there should be a thousand of them… or more…"

The magical lights illuminated countless undead, like shadows writhing in the dark, and it was difficult to get an exact count. Wreathed in the scent of rot, the shambling mass of undead pressed in toward the doors like gathering clouds. It was not just Zombies and Skeletons down there; there were also a few rarer and more powerful undead — Ghouls, Ghasts, Wights, Swell Skins, Corrupt Dead, and more.

The guards could not help their shivering. Because the graveyard was surrounded by a wall, the undead could not attack the common folk as long as the wall held out. However, even if they mobilized all their guards, it was doubtful whether they could fend off such a massive horde of the undead. The guards were essentially normal citizens, and they had no confidence in wiping out these undead.

In addition, some undead could turn their slain victims into others of their own kind. If things went poorly, the guards might end up becoming undead themselves and attacking their fellows. And while they had not seen any flying undead yet, the guards had a bad feeling — that if they did not wipe them all out, a flying undead creature would end up spawning sooner or later.

The undead tide washed up against the side of the wall. The swarming, mindless undead had no sense of pain, and banged wildly against the doors. It was as if they knew that they could attack the living if they broke the doors down. The sounds of repeated pounding and the constant moans of the dead came from the other side of the door.

They did not need siege rams. The undead, who did not care if their bodies were destroyed by their non-stop battering, were siege weapons in their own right. Cold sweat broke out on the backs of the guards who saw this.

"Ring the bell! Ask for help from the barracks! You two, go inform the other doors about this!" The captain, who had recovered his senses by now, continued giving orders. "The ones behind, take your spears and stab the undead getting close to the doors!"

The guards remembered their duty as they heard the orders, and they started thrusting savagely at the undead below them. The undead covered the land like a flood, so any stroke of theirs found a home in undead flesh.

They thrust, withdrew, and thrust again.

Tainted blood spilled over the ground, while the guards' noses were soon inured to the stench of decay. They repeated the same motions over and over again like workers. They killed several undead, which fell to the ground and were trampled to paste by the ones behind them. Because the undead had little intelligence, they did not strike against the guards stabbing at them with their spears. Repeating the same simple actions eroded the guards' sense of danger.

And then, as though aiming for that moment —

"Uwaaaaaaaah!"

A scream pierced the air. As the other guards turned to look, they saw something long and wriggly curled around another guard's neck. It was a slimy, pink object — an intestine.

The creature that had shot forth this length of intestine was an egg-shaped undead creature, with a huge cavity on the front of its body. Within that cavity were several people's worth of internal organs, churning and wriggling like parasites. This undead creature was called an Organ Egg. The writhing intestine pulled at the guard's body.

"Hyaaaaaaa!"

Before his friends could save him, the guard wailed and fell.

"Save, save me! Someone save me! Agyaaaah!"

His screams filled the air. Every guard saw the terrible fate of their colleague, eaten alive by the throng of undead. The armor which protected his body and his attempts to protect his face only prolonged his suffering. His fingers, his calves, his face, all of them were picked clean.

"Fall back! Get down from the wall!"

After seeing the Organ Egg's innards twitching, the guard captain ordered a retreat. All the guards hurriedly ran down the stairs, and they could hear the sounds of the undead banging at the doors getting louder. The doors themselves began groaning under the strain. The sense of doom grew stronger. The chances of them holding out until help arrived, or that no other strong undead would show up were very low. Once the doors opened, the tide of death would flood in, and only the gods knew how many lives would be lost.

Just as the guards were fully consumed by despair, there was a clattering of metal. Everyone reflexively looked to the source of the sound. Before their eyes was a warrior in full plate armor. Beside them was a beautiful woman who seemed completely mismatched to the pair.

"O-Oi! This place is very dangerous! Get out of—"

Halfway through the guard's words, he realized that there was a metal plate dangling from the warrior's neck. An adventurer. However, that ember of hope was snuffed out when he saw that it was a copper plate. Adventurers of the lowest class could not possibly deliver them from this dilemma. A look of disappointment appeared in the eyes of all the guards present.

"Didn't you hear me? Get out of here now!"

"Nabe, my sword."

The warrior's voice was softer than the guard's shouting, but it was surprisingly resonant even through the clamor of the swarming undead. The beautiful woman approached the warrior, and drew a greatsword from his back.

"Look behind you. It's dangerous, right?"

The guards turned around in response to the warrior's words, and they looked upon their doom. They saw a shape which was taller than the four meter high walls. It was a Necrosome Giant, a gigantic undead creature made of countless corpses.

"Uwaaaaah—"

Just as the guards screamed and prepared to flee, a strange sight appeared before them. The warrior from just now raised his sword in a javelin-thrower's stance.

 _What was he doing?_ In the next moment, that question vanished like mist in sunlight.

The warrior hurled his sword with unbelievable speed. The guards hurriedly looked where the sword had flown, and there they saw an even more incredible sight. The Necrosome Giant, that vast, seemingly invincible undead creature, staggered back like it had been hit in the head by an even larger foe, before collapsing to the ground. A thunderous crash provided the proof that the gigantic creature had been knocked down.

"—These undead are in the way."

With that, the dark warrior drew his other greatsword and advanced.

"Open up."

The guards did not seem to have understood what the warrior said. They blinked several times before they finally managed to parse the warrior's words.

"Don't, don't be foolish! There's a whole crowd of undead on the other side of the door!"

"So? What does that matter to me, Momon?"

Faced by the absolute confidence of the dark warrior, all of the guards were shaken to the core, and they could not respond.

"…Well, if you won't open up, it can't be helped. I'll go over there myself."

The warrior broke into a sprint and kicked off the stone floor, vanishing over the other side of the wall. He had leapt over a four meter high wall in a single bound, and while wearing full plate too. It was a scene that barely seemed real at all. The guards could not bring themselves to believe the events which had just occurred. Each of them continued staring slack-jawed at the place where Momon had been.

The beautiful woman floated into the sky from her original position. She looked like she would cross the wall like that.

Now all was silence. They stared with open mouths and stunned eyes for a while, as though a typhoon had just swept past them. The first guard to recover spoke in a voice that trembled uncontrollably:

"Oi… do you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"The sounds of the undead."

Even though they strained their ears to listen, they could not hear anything. It was as though a veil of silence had been drawn across the land. The constant sound of the undead pounding on the doors from just now was nowhere to be found.

The frightened guards muttered. "Oi, did that actually happen? That warrior… there were undead like that, and so many of them, and he broke right through them… went straight ahead."

They were filled with equal parts shock and awe. The reason why the noise had stopped was because the nearby undead had been drawn away by a new target. Given that the sound still had not returned, it implied that they were still fighting and had not returned. This unbelievable scenario drew the guards to the top of the walls to satisfy their curiosity. They could not believe what they saw from up there, and they muttered:

"What is this… that warrior… what kind of a man is he…"

Countless bodies littered the ground. Mountains of corpses were everywhere, covering the entire graveyard. Although some of the undead hung on to a thread of unlife and struggled weakly to move, all of them had lost the ability to fight. The smell of decay floated over as they expected, and they heard the sounds of distant battle.

"…No way… he's still fighting? All these undead, strong ones too, and he could actually break through them! Incredible…!"

"Who was that warrior, anyway?"

"…He called himself Momon, I think… but calling someone with skills like that a copper plate is too much of a joke. He should be one of those legendary adventurers with an adamantite plate, right?"

The others quietly voiced their approval. Someone like that could not be a mere copper plate adventurer. He should be someone who possessed a plate made of the highest ranked of all metals — in other words, a hero. There was no other possibility.

"We… perhaps we just saw a man of legend… a dark warrior… no, a dark hero…"

Everyone else could not help but nod in response to that.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	10. Assassin

**Chapter Ten "Assassin"**

Ainz paid very little attention to his surroundings. When his right hand moved, the undead were flung away. When his left hand struck, the undead were cut in two. A tornado of death which killed everything it touched. He finally ground to a halt.

"What bothersome pests." Ainz muttered as looked at the undead army before him.

The undead army before him was to easy to kill. All it took was one blow. One blow to kill not just one, but several of the undead at the same time. His attacks were so powerful that even hitting the undead with his weapons were unnecessary. Even a glancing blow or the smallest part of his weapon touching the undead was enough to reduce them to nothing but pieces.

"This isn't a game anymore… This is reality…" Ainz reminded himself.

He looked on the undead around him with an exasperated expression on his face, and then pointed a greatsword caked in vile fluids at them. The undead recoiled at this and tried to flee Ainz. The undead should not have known the meaning of fear, yet they had come to fear Ainz.

"That is strange… Why are they scared of me…?" Ainz wondered.

"It is because they recognize your magnificence, Ainz-sama," said Narberal, who was standing beside him.

"What did I say about calling me that or treating me differently. If someone is watching us and discovers anything amiss than all this time and effort could be wasted if they discover our true nature." Ainz said in a chiding tone.

"Excuse me, Momon-san." Narberal apologized.

With every step Ainz took forward, the undead took one back. They encircled him in this way while keeping their distance from him. The circle moved with Ainz's steps. Although the undead seemed to be looking for a chance to attack, any who stepped forward were immediately destroyed by Ainz. Therefore, the undead merely surrounded him, but did not make a move on him.

"Do you think that they can detect my true nature? Despite me casting magic spells to prevent such magic from working." Ainz asked.

Narberal remained quiet for a moment as if she was thinking that Ainz knew the answer and was instead testing her.

"It might be something that you cannot hide. Similar to how a mother would recognize their child despite altering their appearance." Narberal suggested.

"You might be right," Ainz murmured and turned his attention on the undead before him. "Still, if this keeps up, it'll only be a stalemate," Ainz grumbled as he saw the huge throng of undead that still remained.

If he wanted to break the encirclement, he could easily cut a path through the undead horde. However, if he forced his way through, the undead would scatter in all directions and the nearby guards might end up being injured or killed. If that happened, he would lose the witnesses to his deeds, and thus fail the objective of being "the adventurer who cleared up this matter." Therefore, he had to lure the undead to him as he moved forward, in order to ensure the safety of the guards. However, doing so made his forward progress very slow.

And then, Narberal responded in earnest to Ainz's words. "Should we summon reinforcements? This undead army will be annihilated."

"…Don't be silly. How many times have I told you our objective for coming to this city?"

"But, Momon-san, if we wanted to win fame, would it not be better to let the undead surge into the city and cause more casualties first before stepping in?"

"I have considered that possibility as well. If we knew our enemy's aim, this city's fighting power and so on, we might be able to do that. But since we lack information, we need to avoid losing this chance. It would also be very annoying to have to dance to the opposition's tune. In addition, from what I can see, other teams might snatch away our glory first."

"I see… Momon-san, you are truly incredible. To think your plan was so immaculately conceived; I expected nothing less of… you. I bow before your superior wisdom once more. Speaking of which… your foolish vassal would like to be enlightened on one point."

Ainz silently looked at Narberal. The night wind blew softly. Any undead who sought to exploit this perceived weakness would instead be destroyed in one hit by a swing of Ainz's greatswords.

"Nabe, take to the skies. If the undead was to escape the graveyard and get into the city itself than our objective will be unfulfilled." Ainz instructed.

"Of course, Momon-san," said Narberal as she nodded and fly into the sky.

"What do you see?" Ainz asked.

"The undead army is larger than we had expected, Momon-san. It is easily in the thousands."

He had thought that the undead army he was facing was in the hundreds. The magic spell that had been used seemed like the 7th Tier magic spell, Undead Army, that in YGGDRASIL created upwards of hundreds of low-level undeads depending on the INT (Intelligence) and WIS (Wisdom) stats. The undead army he saw numbered in the thousands, but not surpassing tens of thousands. It just proved that the New World was very different from YGGDRASIL.

A smirk formed. A large army of undead was good news for him. The original plan had been to protect E-Rantel from an undead threat before it could spill out from the graveyard. Ain was supposed to become a local hero for the act. A larger undead army and him defeating would have a greater effect to boosting his reputation than say an undead army of hundreds. He might instead become welcomed as a national hero and that status would greatly aid him in gathering information of the New World.

"No, my plan might be ruined…" Ainz muttered as he looked at the situation from a new angle. "Nabe, are there others besides us fighting the undead?"

"I see some adventurers that are joining the fray," said Narberal, "for now it seems that they are acting as sort of mobile reserve that is plugging holes in the fortifications manned by the guards."

"Not good… If the adventurers manage to stem the tide of the undead than they will eventually counter-attack." Ainz mumbled. "Nabe, move to the largest concentration of undead where people will most likely see. Show everyone our might!"

"Of course, Momon-san," said Narberal as she nodded and flew away to carry out her given orders.

"Now than. I hope you put up a greater fight. The more you struggle and more my prowess will be displayed," said Ainz as he looked at the undead army before him. "Prepare yourself! I have come for your heads!"

\- O -

Shirou Emiya slowly and silently crept up to where he was detecting the huge flow of magical energy, which was likely the source of the never-ending undead horde.

"It must be here," Shirou murmured as he looked at what was the entrance to a large crypt.

Not far from Shirou were several suspicious figures in a circular formation within a large and desolate room. The black robes covering their bodies were unevenly dyed and of poor quality. They used a triangular cloth to cover their face, showing nothing but their eyes. The tips of the wooden staffs in their hands had strange engravings.

Different from the rest of the black-robed mages was a man who looked like an undead in the middle was showing his face, and his clothing was elegant. The man held a black stone in his hand and seemed to be concentrating, the same man that had created the restraints and visited Shirou not too long ago.

Their soft whispers were transmitted into Shirou's ears with the wind. Their pitch changed in unison and sounded like a prayer, but it didn't feel like the solemn prayer offered to those who had passed on and more like a magic ritual desecrating the dead.

Shirou materialised several needles and threw them at the black robed mages. The needles were incredible small to the point that they were nearly always invisible to the naked eye when thrown. Each needle were made out of very dense and hard metals to prevent them the wind to knock them off course and when they hit the target to do so with incredible force thanks to their mass.

Several of the mages cried out in pain before clutching their necks and collapsed onto the ground. The rest simple dropped dead. Those who didn't immediately die had the deaths caused by the poison that coated the needles that had hit the carotid arteries and jugular veins, both which either delivered or drew blood from the brain and heart, as the poison immediately ceased the brains and vital organs from functioning. Those who died immediately were due from the nerves that controlled their vital organs from being severed.

One mage, the one with the black orb, was completely unharmed. A large sphere of bones having blocked Shirou's needles.

"Hmmph… How did you get past my traps and alarms without me noticing…? I thought my work had been perfect," said the mage holding the black orb, who seemed to be the leader.

"Your traps and alarms were seemingly not good enough," Shirou drawled on in an unimpressed tone.

From Shirou's fine magical senses, he could detect a sharp buildup of prana. The mage with the black orb was no ordinary mage. He was a powerful one and had very instincts. In terms of gaming and YGGDRASIL, someone that were no mere support mage that helped from the sidelines by debuffing the enemy, providing buffs and heals to allies. He was someone that likely specialized in frontline combat.

"I underestimated you. Maybe I was overconfident of my abilities." The black orb using mage spoke.

"You just haven't met someone like me." Shirou shrugged and replied. "Come out. I can detect your presence. There is no point hiding anymore when I know you are there."

"Ohh~ Impressive~!" A voice spoke. "Ah, I am Clementine. Pleased to meet you." A woman showed herself slowly, a metallic clanking sound could be heard with every step she took. Clementine's face twisted. Her grin was so wide it almost reached her ears. "Khajii-chan, continue on with your magic ritual. I will take her on. Though, I might relocate if I was you. This area is not going to be safe with this fight."

Grudgingly, Khajiit nodded and walked to another location. Somewhere he could safely conduct the wide-scale and powerful magic ritual.

Clementine lifted her cape, revealing orange scale armor. Scale armor were normally coats that was made out of tiny, overlapping "scales" of metal to provide protection. Clementine's scale armor was far from the conventional scale armor. It was more like bikini – bra and briefs – that happened to protect everything beside the midriff, front and back. While Clementine dangerously exposed her midriff and thighs, other parts of her body were sensibly protected. Greaves and boots protected the lower leg and feet. Gauntlets and pauldrons protected entirety of the arms and hands.

Strapped to many parts of her body were holstered sheaths for identical weapons that Shirou instantly recognized. They were stilettos, light and easily concealable weapons. Shirou was facing an assassin, and an extremely successful one. That information Shirou saw by reading the history of the blades that Clementine used.

"I wouldn't be so confident if I was you." Shirou warned.

"Don't be silly~. You cannot defeat me. Maybe if you had someone~ to help you, but it's just you and me~. I can kill you before you can blink~" Clementine cockily replied.

"I see, you are confident in your prowess as a fighter…" Shirou sighed as he closed his eyes.

"That's obvious. In this country there are few fighters that can defeat me~. Correction, almost no warriors that can defeat me~." Clementine confidently and boldly said like it was the truth.

Shirou sent bolts of fire at his enemy. Clementine squinted her eyes in displeasure as she dodged the numerous bolts of fire that shot at her.

 _There should only be a handful of individuals that can match me one-to-one. I know the general description of most said individuals that could fight me on even grounds. None of those individuals that can good chance of winning a fight with match his appearance. He must be cocky._ Clementine showed a disgusting smile to Shirou. "Just to let you know I am a former Black Scripture member. I am Clementine, former 9th Seat."

"I simply don't care." Shirou bluntly spoke.

"What?!" Clementine shouted in outrage at the dismissal she received.

Clementine lost all composure when she was belittlement she received. She was not just some ordinary individual that had the some fighting ability. She was an elite. No, not just any elite. The elites of elites. Amongst the pinnacle of human achievement. Her strength had reached the realm beyond most humans would ever hope to accomplish. While she might not have the reputation of the mythical heroes, she had the strength to match them if they were still alive. She was an ex-member of the Black Scripture, the strongest that a human could possibly achieve without being a God-kin: blessed individuals that had the blood of divinity running through their veins. The nerve that the man showed before her was unforgivable!

The crafty Clementine reined in her anger and shoved her emotions to a corner to deal with after the fight. She calmly looked at Shirou and formed a faint smile. She was going to make the bastard pay for disrespecting her. What better way to make the bastard ask for forgiveness as he begged his life? That mental image made Clementine brought the faint smile to morph in full-blown one.

Clementine stopped and slowly changed her posture, similar to the starting position of a sprinter, but she was still standing so it was awkward. It looked funny but wasn't a position to take lightly. She frowned as the man just simply stood there, watching in curiosity.

 _Well it's his death_ , Clementine thought to herself. She shot out like a fully loaded spring that had been released. She charged straight on. Clementine appeared before Shirou in a blink of an eye.

At that moment, Clementine saw the man smirking. The sheer momentum of the sprint more than compensated for her lack of body mass and that her weapon. With a flash, a screeching sound erupted in the cemetery.

The absurd reaction of her blade shocked Clementine.

The slender stiletto hit with a force, which was equal to that a battering ram capable of annihilating a heavily fortified gate, was blocked by an invisible force. She found to believe that there was such a powerful barrier made without a magic incantation, and the barrier showed no signs of breaking. The only barriers she had seen that were powerful like the one before her were made through the concerted effort of a team of mages working in tandem to cast a barrier to resist a siege. It was hard for her to believe that a single mage could cast such a powerful barrier without the use of any incantation and so quickly.

Clementine quickly backed away. No counter-attacks came from Shirou. Only a smug smirk that was worn by Shirou was the only result from Clementine first strike.

"That barrier must have the strength as solid wall of adamantium." Clementine muttered.

The ex-member of the Black Scripture reevaluated her opinion of her opponent. He was someone that stood at the same level as her, who had been amongst the most powerful members of the Black Scripture and just below the standards of God-kin. The man possessed all the tell-tale signs of being an adamantium class mage. The ability to call forth magic so quickly and easily to block an attack from even another adamantium class fighter when even a team of mithril class mages would be hard pressed to replicate the same feat.

"I heard that and feel complimented that you feel that way." Shirou said with a smug smile.

Clementine flinched when she realized how sharp her opponent's senses were. The man had the same level of sharp senses like she did, and that was a crowning achievement alone. She had such sharp senses because her years as an assassin had sometimes relied solely on her senses alone to avoid detection in her spying and assassinations. Three possible explanations came to Clementine. The first, her enemy had naturally sharp senses. The second, her enemy had trained long and hard his senses to be able to track and avoid danger. The third and most likely explanation was that her opponent used magic to enhance his senses.

Shirou didn't just idle stand there as her opponent analyzed her. She too accessed her opponent.

The enemy before her seemed like a mixture between the Lancer, Saber and Assassin class Servants with her agility, swordplay and stealth. While not comparable to the greatest of Servants such as Cú Chulainn, Arturia Pendragon and Hassan-i-Sabbah, Clementine would rank amongst the likes of the significantly weaker and relatively unknown Servants. That was an achievement alone noteworthy of because she was being compared legendary heroes that made up the greatest humans to ever existence. Clementine was otherwise a great example of the New World that Shirou could test himself against and gauge his ability against the New World's strongest.

Shirou glanced at the barrier that he had constructed. While the barrier seemed undamaged for it was invisible to the naked eye, Shirou could sense spider web cracks that had formed inside the barrier. The strength behind the blow was astonishing. That strike was superhuman strength all focused into the bladed tip of Clementine's weapon. If he had been hit in the body with that attack then the blade would have punched through and wrecked havoc to his body.

"Well, I am coming~. So prepare yourself." Clementine commented, snapping Shirou out of his musing.

Clementine adopted the same forward leaning position just like before. She charged over. She was so fast even Shirou's incredible dynamic vision had a hard time keeping up – that was without enhancing her vision with magic. If Clementine wasn't coming in a straight line at him, she might have escaped out of Shirou's sight.

Shirou renewed the barrier when he knew that his opponent was going to repeat the same attack from last time. He was surprised when the barrier's shattering came out like a large bell being rung right beside him and Clementine's blade stabbing towards him.

"Tch! Not only are you powerful but you have the equipment to back your status as someone that can fight on equal grounds as me." Clementine clicked her tongue in annoyance as she jumped back.

Clementine had broken through the barrier and stopped short of inflicting any wounds. The stiletto's top half had been shattered into metal fragments. It was like the stiletto had smashed into a wall. The many stilettos she carried and used were made out of the legendary mithril. They were many times stronger than even the strongest steel forged weapons and without the weight. There were few legendary materials that were stronger than even mithril.

"Are you finished admiring my clothes?" Shirou said with a smirk.

Shirou couldn't help but chuckle when Clementine flinched, despite the fact that they were in a fight to the death. The clothes he were not just similar, if not nearly the same as EMIYA wore. It was only appear-wise that was the same. It combined the magical properties of EMIYA's clothes and YGGDRASIL items. YGGDRASIL stat bonuses enhanced his already formidable physical capabilities and defensive properties that surpassed his original battle armor. It would take only a very powerful weapon or attack to bypass the protective properties or damage his armor.

"Don't get cocky because your armor is strong," said Clementine in a not-so-amused tone. "When you die than you're going to regret for being so cocky."

He didn't reply. Instead, Shirou wondered how to continue the fight. It was still a very jarring experience for him to see himself use magecraft that he shouldn't be capable of. His extensive training at the Clock Tower and personal teaching as Rin's apprentice had greatly expanded his limited repatriate of magecraft that had been limited to the bare basics: Reinforcement, Alteration and Projection. He had been able to do a bit of everything with some limited success, but his handicap because of Origin and Element of Sword had greatly handicapped him what he was capable of with other magecraft.

"I bet Rin would love to be here right now. To see what I am now capable of and tearing her hair out at the mystery of being able to give her a run at her money as Average One," Shirou muttered in a very amused tone as he imagined how Rin would act. " _Blitz-Drache_."

Sparking electricity shot out Shirou's hand at moved with the speed of lightning as began to take shape of a dragon and the roaring of thunder matched that of a dragon.

Clementine squatted down, tightening her grip on the Stiletto. Breathing out deeply, Clementine prepared sprinted forward once more.

" _Pace of the Wind_ , _Greater Evasion_ , _Ability Boost_ , _Greater Ability Boost_ ," Clementine chanted.

In the accelerated world Clementine found herself in after using four separate martial arts to boost her strength and speed significantly, while enhancing her already keen senses and reaction time; she could grasp everything moving around her in perfect clarity. It didn't matter how fast the lightning moved and in what manner. Clementine predicted hundreds of possible paths that lightning could take move. She was confident that the lightning was no threat to her and to show it, she charged forward and narrowly avoided the lightning to the point that she could feel the intense heat given off by the lightning pass over her.

With no hesitation, Clementine ran towards Shirou.

"Die~!"

Using all the muscles in her body, Clementine shoved the stiletto forward at the Shirou's chest. The force behind the stiletto with her enhanced strength and speed was enough to surely pierce through the durable material of his clothes. To add to the stiletto's penetration power, she twisted her blade.

" _Trace On_."

Clementine yelped in surprise when her opponent moved even faster than herself. She barely had enough time but narrowly avoid being cut by several rapiers held in a claw-like fashion by jumping backwards. The counterattack had been so unexpected that Clementine bit back a scream as her dominant hand, the one that held the mithril stiletto, was dislocated in several places: the wrist, elbow and shoulder. The dislocations happened when she jumped back to avoid the unexpected and dangerous counterattack that caused the rest of her body to move backwards while her dominant arm shot forward to stab at Shirou, driving it forward; the two opposing forces acting on Clementine's body causing the dislocation.

That narrow dodge from the unexpected counterattack didn't save Clementine from danger. Shirou dashed forward to the retreating Clementine and delivered kick that sent her skidding back on the ground.

"Gaaaaarrrrrrgggghhh!" Clementine screamed in agony. "How?"

"About what?" Shirou inquired.

"How did you get those weapons?!" Clementine roared. _For her enemy to have even one of those weapons in her hands meant_ …

"I think you know the answer." Shirou said, seemingly reading the downed assassin as she glared.

Clementine began to smirk in a predatory fashion. She stood up and clenched her stiletto with glee. "It took the Black Scripture long enough to send someone after me."

Shirou tired from the fight. He was pressed for time. Every second was precious. Normally, he would have drawn out a fight such as the one before him as it allowed him to take pleasure in using the skills that he had honed over the centuries but an undead army, which was out to slaughter any living individual within E-Rantel, was growing by the moment. He had to end the fight as soon as possible to deal with the mage that was summoning and controlling the undead army.

" _Trace On_." Shirou muttered.

Lights began to burst around Shirou as motes of lights gathered to form shapes. Those motes were not just light but magical energy that were taking shape into pre-loaded blueprints from Shirou' mind and being created. The light quickly dispersed to shape dozens up dozens of objects. Each one different in shape, purpose and size. All them were weapons. The weapons remained immobile in the air, defying gravity like they were held in place by some sort of invisible force. They gleamed by reflecting the light that fell upon them.

"What in the hel–" Clementine shouted in alarm but her voice transformed into that of the agonizing screaming.

The weapons were so fast that they were a disappeared from sight, only to reappear later. Roars of thunder were left behind in the wake of the weapons as they broke the sound barrier. Weapons of all sorts shot down at Clementine.

Clementine pushed her already incredible superhuman abilities to the limit to dodge every single weapon that moved faster than even a bullet. For very weapon she dodged, she found another weapon waiting to impale her. No matter what direction she took.

When she stopped to deflect the raining blades, which had proved that dodging wasn't working, Clementine found that it didn't mutter if she remained in one spot and deflected every weapon that came towards her. That didn't matter as weapons came from every direction. No matter how valiantly Clementine fought until the end, she was just delaying the inevitable.

 _How depressing. The fight didn't even last long._ Clementine thought as one after one pierced her body from all directions and turned her into a human hedgehog with weapons poking out of her body.

"Do you wish to live?"

 _Of course, I want to live. Who doesn't?!_ Clementine screamed in her mind, but couldn't utter a single breath with countless weapons stabbing into her body, and then she felt the void take her.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	11. Human Necromancer

**Chapter Ten "Human Necromancer"**

Khajiit continued with their magic ritual to continue emptying E-Rantel's great cemetery to fill the ranks of his undead army. That was until Khajiit felt a large spike in magical energy that was not his own. Lightning came crashing down and in the wake of the magic attack was a loud explosion and blinding flash.

"So, you are alive." Khajiit spoke as a sphere of bones that had protected him dispersed to reveal his figure.

"It takes more than a rogue to kill me." Shirou bluntly stated as he made his presence known.

"I have worked too long for this to see it fail! Anyone who foolishly attempts to derail my plans will die! Let me show you the power of the Orb of Death!" Khajiit roared as he lifted the black pearl in his hand like it was a game-changing object.

The Orb of Death was simple a very large obsidian ball. It was so large that someone might have mistaken it for a crystal ball had it not been for its lack of transparency. Shirou saw the pearl was pulsating with light. His magical senses could detect an immense amount of prana stored within the black orb. Enough prana stored within the black orb to easily surpass most of prana-infused gems that Rin, the most knowledgeable magician that Shirou knew that used gems as magical tools, possessed. He could pick up waves of invisible magical energy oozing out of the black pearl. Not only was the black pearl radiating a significant amount of magical energy but even more than the prana reserves that Khajiit, the user, or Shirou possessed.

"You shall learn that your death is inevitable!" Khajiit shouted.

Shirou was about to attack the black robed magician when he heard a sound. It was the sound of the wind. A giant object came sweeping down at Shirou, which he dodged easily by jumping backwards.

The thing that had attacked Shirou then slowly landed next to Khajiit. It was a being made from bones and about three meters tall. A legendary creature known as the dragon. With a long neck, wings and four legs, it possessed the shape of a dragon. Only it lacked very important features such as scales and flesh. Only the skeleton of the dragon remained. Its movement wholly powered by magical energy in its undead existence.

Shirou looked surprised then reined in his expression as he assessed the undead dragon.

"Hahaha!" Khajiit's unrestrained laughter erupted. "The Skeletal Dragon with absolute resistance against magic, a powerful enemy that renders Magicians helpless!"

If magic wouldn't harm the Skeletal Dragon, then there was the fighting method that he was most familiar with. Black Keys materialised in his hands in a claw-like fashion as he held the hilts of the rapiers between his knuckles.

Shirou took swung both arms. Black Keys went flying into the Skeletal Dragon's foreleg. The blessed blades punched through the bone with ease. Instead of cutting through bone after bone like each layer, it was more like acid melting through metal. Had the Skeletal Dragon been a living creature then it would be howling in pain as blood oozed out of its wounds.

"What!?" Khajiit was dumbfounded.

Dragons were legendary for the death and destruction that they left in their wake, and a very good reason for such a reputation came from the fact that injuring or killing a dragon was very difficult task to the point that killing even one dragon made the dragon slayer famous. Dragons had three distinct parts of their biology that made killing them very difficult. Scales, hide and bone. Each part of the dragon's natural armor ranging from steel to adamantium level of protection provided by the said metals depending on the dragon's age and strength.

While the undead dragon that Khajiit had summoned had died long ago voiding it of its incredibly strong and durable scales and hide that did not mean that it was defenseless. Its bone was nearly untouchable to mundane steel and difficult for even mithril to damage.

"–You, who the hell are you! I am seeing someone that is clearly an adamantium-class adventurer. Yet, I have never heard of someone of your strength." Khajiit shouted in shock and fury.

"There are beings beyond your comprehensions. One such example is in front of you." Shirou replied.

A Skeletal Dragon was a very powerful monster. While it was weaker than its living counterparts because of the lack of instincts that a living dragon possessed it was strong enough that a team of mithril class fighters. Even a adamantium class fighter should have difficult fighting it by themselves. Khajiit should be seeing his enemy struggling to survive. There was only one possible explanation that came to him to explain how his enemy was so talented in combat and didn't struggle with the undead dragon.

"You, you! You cannot be one of the God-kins that Clementine had told me about! Did you come to hunt down Clementine for betraying the Black Scripture and the Slane Theocracy! That could be the only explanation that you have access to those blessed weapons!" Khajiit shouted in disbelief.

"Maybe? All you need to know that someone has come to stop you." Shirou replied cryptically.

The Skeletal Dragon was beginning to move slower and slower. Eventually it reached the point that it seemed like it was dead from the lack of movement. Its undead existence fueled by magical energy was being exhausted by the Black Keys' concepts to hurt and kill any that threatened humanity's existence, in this case the human was Shirou.

Damage dealt by the Black Keys to the undead dragon's skeleton was extensive. Shirou had specifically targeted the spine of the Skeletal Dragon. The spine in which facilities any movement was so badly damaged that even if the dragon's fuel source was not distinguished then its skeleton would fall apart with every movement until none of the bones were connected with each other.

"No! No! No!" Khajiit screamed. " _Bone healing_. _Prana Infusion._ "

Rays of light shone from Khajiit's hand onto the Skeletal Dragon, repairing the Skeletal Dragon's damaged bones and reconnecting bones that were barely holding on to each other. The dragon's lack of movements increased for nothing to sluggish then back to normal with the refueling of magical energy.

"It doesn't matter if you heal it. I will bring it down." Shirou snorted.

Ignoring Shirou's taunts, Khajiit continued casting magic.

" _Reinforce Armor_ , _Lesser Strength_ , _Undead Flame_ , _Shield Wall_." Khajiit kept casting spells to strengthen the Skeletal Dragon.

Shirou dashed forward and materialized another set of Black Keys in his hands. He threw them at the black magician, but the undead dragon moved to intercept the holy blades with its body. The hero didn't just stop there. He continued to dash forward and continued his ranged attacks with the Black Keys until he was within melee distance of the Skeletal Dragon.

" _Trace On_." Shirou chanted.

Black Keys that manifested itself as a rapier. The same couldn't be said for the blade within his hand. It was a Black Key had been over Reinforced to the uttermost that it was very close to breaking point. The form of a claymore. It possessed the mass that allowed him to do more damage than had he used a lighter weapon. There was also the fact that it possessed a longer reach, keeping him further away from the dragon's claw.

The claymore-shaped Black Key easily cleaved through the skeleton of the undead dragon. Its heavy mass, Shirou's magically enhanced superhuman strength and speed were the more than enough to overwhelm the undead dragon's mithril-hard bones.

" _Bone Healing._ " Khajiit healed the Skeletal Dragon with his magic.

Fighting the Skeleton Dragon was unless. No matter how much damage he dealt, Khajiit would restore the Skeletal Dragon from behind. Shirou wanted to take out Khajiit first, but the Skeletal Dragon was in the way, stopping him. If he attempted to disengage from the dragon and attack Khajiit, the dragon would block him. Casting magic was worthless if the dragon used itself to block his magic attack and Khajiit healed the bone dragon.

A white object that covered his entire field of vision appeared before Shirou. It was impossible to evade. He brought the claymore in front of him and blocked the attack, but the force behind the strike made his body fly into the air. The attack was the result of the Skeletal Dragon's tail swinging with Shirou's face as the target.

Shirou didn't fall as he landed agilely with both feet on the ground but he still stumbled backwards. Khajiit showed his face from behind the Skeletal Dragon and used it as a chance to attack.

" _Rain of_ _Acid Javelin_."

The green spear-shaped objects rained down on Shirou. The javelins of acid should have harmed his, but it was nullified and dissipated. His Magic Resistance was so high that nothing short of more powerful magic such as C-ranked magic could harm him that meant magic that normally required more than a single-action magic spell to affect him.

"... How troublesome. Whatever you are wearing is providing protection that would render magic below 3rd Tier unless against you." Khajiit said in displeasured tone as he glared at Shirou. He held the strange ball up to the sky. "Witness the true power of the Orb of Death, which I had not yet revealed to you!"

The ground trembled and Shirou's body followed suit. That was a sign of a gigantic being showing itself. The ground cracked the next moment and eight more white beasts slowly rose.

"... Really. More undead dragons." Shirou sighed.

"If you are indeed God-kin then nothing short of nine Skeletal Dragon, which would overwhelm even an adamantium team, will be enough to deal with you," said Khajiit.

After breathing taking a deep breath, Shirou thought about testing something that he had wanted to check out. He consciously willed for the status of the Skeletal Dragon. He had been expecting something like a screen to appear to describe the dragon in RPG terms, but none came out. Shirou wirly smiled. It had been too much to expect that he could get a status window when the New World was clearly a bizzare mixing of video game and reality. The Skeletal Dragons proved that it hadn't been a creation from YGGDRASIL like the deceased Shalltear Bloodfallen was.

It was time for another experiment.

" _Trace On_." Shirou chanted as he brought his right hand up and supported it with his left arm at the biceps.

Shirou opened his right hand and grasped the imaginary handle of a weapon that had yet to exist. The size of the blade was too large for him to handle. He modified it so it could fit his hand. It possessed an extraordinary weight. His brow shot up in confusion. He should've felt torturous burden placed on his body. His body aching as it struggled to carry such a heavy burden for he had yet to replicate the superhuman strength of the original wielder required to support it.

The time for thinking stopped when the nine undead dragons came at Shirou. They came all at once. From every direction. Giving Shirou no room to escape. Their wings were flapping in preparation in case he jumped up to avoid them.

" _Nine Lives Blade Works_!"

Khajiit stared in abject horror and amazement. There were glints of light. Something moved so quickly that its movement was invisible saved for the light that it reflected from the moonlight. What he saw was suddenly all nine undead dragons cleaved into pieces. Bones of various sizes were sent flying into the air and into the ground. Bone fragments so small, the size of sand, showered the air alongside various sizes of flying bones.

"Impossible?!... Just who the hell are you?!" Khajiit roared at the series of impossibilities that he had witnessed.

"Not good enough…" Shirou muttered, ignoring Khajiit shouting. "Hercules was able to deliver a hundred strikes nearly instantaneously. I was barely able to replicate 79 strikes at the same time. There is more much room for improvement of magecraft it seems."

Khajiit became frightened. The man before him must be so sure about himself that he didn't worry about his surrounding despite being in front of an enemy.

"Go! Skeletal dragons! Take the live of the one that had dared to set against your creator!" Khajiit shouted in a mixture of desperation and bravado.

Out of the ground came out several more, fresh Skeletal Dragons. Though, these undead dragons were significantly smaller then the previous and slaughtered dragons. The forelegs of the two closest undead dragons lifted up then stomped down, attempting to squash Shirou.

" _Rho Aias_." Shirou chanted with a smirk.

"Impossible!" The aged neocromancer shouted as his eyes bulged out of their sockets when he witnessed the sight before him. What should have occurred with the crushing of the man into paste did not occur. Standing definitely was the man with his hand stretched out before the paw that had been about to crush him. While his hand was at least a meter away from the blocked paw there was seven-layered pink barriers that stood in the way.

"How are you still alive?! No, what is that magic?!" Khajiit demanded.

"Rho Aias. A seven-layer shield with each layer said to have the defensive power of fortress wall." Shirou bluntly replied with a growing smirk as he saw Khajiit's desperation.

"No such magic barrier could be that powerful or they would be used against sieges."

"It exists, and for your bad luck. I happen to be the only one in this world that can use it."

Khajiit was left speechless. Dragons were known as the most powerful monsters for a reason. A single dragon could destroy entire armies depending age and strength, but it was common knowledge that only teams of elite fighters had any chance at fighting dragons because the destruction dragons wrought. While it was said that dragons could destroy even cities that was partially true, they couldn't wipe everything to the point that there was nothing left standing in their destruction. Stone buildings were known to surviving being destroyed by dragons, but stone fortifications survived all but the strongest dragons.

What Khajiit was facing was someone that could use summon up to seven such defensive magic barriers that rivaled a stone fortification only the strongest of dragons could destroy one or two stone fortifications.

There had to be something that he could do.

"Hoh, but you cannot possibly sustain such a powerful defensive magic forever. Eventually you will tie. That magic barrier will disappear and then you will die. You are just delaying the inevitable. And the fact that you didn't use that spontaneous resurrection again means that you cannot do it again." Khajiit said confidently as he smirked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Too bad for you, I am not so limited in my arsenal. I want to use another thing in my arsenal."

Shirou then disappeared. Khajiit frantically looked around to searched for the missing Shirou. The sound of a clap could be heard. Khajiit turned in the direction of the clap to see white arcs of lightning surrounding his like it was a sentient being that was protected its creator. The surrounding air sparkled brightly. Shirou was enveloped by a white glow.

Khajiit was dumbfounded. He knew that was an incredible magic beyond him. He could see Shirou smiling coldly in the glaring white light. Before him was the gigantic body of the Skeletal Dragon. Remembering their presence, a shrill alarm sounded in Khajiit's heart.

"──You think you can defeat Skeletal Dragons with their absolute magic resistance?! Go! Kill his!" Khajiit couldn't conceal the fear in his shrill voice as he shouted his orders.

When the Skeletal Dragons drew near, Shirou smiled like a master scolding his foolish disciple.

"Absolute magic resistance? There is no such thing. Magic Resistance can be defeated through a variant of ways. The most common method is simply using magic that will overwhelm magic resistance. I shall demonstrate before you that I am able to use magic to destroy the supposedly 'magic-imperious' dragon."

The closest Skeletal Dragon was about to strike Shirou's exposed back when…

" _Gewitter_."

The field of electricity that had pulsed protective around Shirou shot up into the air. What unfolded next was a freak natural phenomenon, a lightning storm that had happened out of nowhere. Lightning began to strike the earth with such ferocity that it matched the thunderous roar of a dragon. Whatever that was hit by the lightning was torn asunder or simply disintegrated.

Khajiit collapsed onto the ground. What he was witnessing was 5th Tier magic spell, Lightning Storm. It took a team of elite magicians to cast such a powerful magic spell or to be done took the highest of adamantium class magicians to cast alone.

He had no doubt in his mind that his undead army was going to be destroyed. It wasn't going to take an entire army of soldiers or teams of adventurers. It was going to be annihilated by one individual. A man that surpassed even that nineteen-year-old leader of the adamantium-class team of adventurers, the Blue Rose.

"Why! The fruits of my labor over 5 years are gone in less than an hour! I spent five years to prepare in this city! The wish I couldn't let go after thirty years! Do you have the rights to destroy all this!? You, who suddenly showed up!" Khajiit's howled.

"Whatever happened to be your goal, it wasn't right to threaten an entire city of innocent people. I have no doubt that an equal number of people that you were prepared to sacrifice for whatever had been your goal died in those thirty years."

Shirou directed the lightning storm with his magic to strike at his desired target. The lightning that was thicker than an arm hit a Skeletal Dragon, and shook its massive white body. The lightning flowed through the entire body of the Skeletal Dragon, ending its false life. The results were clear. Under the might of the lightning, the Skeletal Dragon that had so much durability to resist damage that it was thought it was impervious to magic started to shatter.

Even after shattering the Skeletal Dragon, the lightning still remained arced and passed into another target. One after another, the Skeletal Dragons fall victim to the lightning that was so hot that metal would melt. Until none of the skeletal dragons were left but melted liquid that had once been bones.

"How can this… Gah–!"

Khajiit felt an unimaginable amount unlike anything that he had felt before. It hurt so much it felt like something extremely sharp had pierced his torso. When he looked down Khajiit saw a very familiar weapon protruding out of his chest.

"Why… Aarrrhhh!"

"Keep silent Khaj-chan~! My Master has decided that you needed to die. So, no hard feeling~." All too familiar voice to Khajiit spoke.

"Clementine. Kill him quickly. As much as I want to see him die slowly and painfully, ever second is another second for the undead army that he had created to hurt and kill the people of E-Rantel. Only with his death will undead army be cut off from their fuel source and become weaker and weaker until no more prana is sustaining their existence or they are destroyed." Shirou said in disapproval.

"No don't kill me. I want to –Gah!" Khajiit begged until he was silenced when cut his throat with a stiletto with his free hand.

Contrary to popular belief, a person doesn't die until their brain ceased to function or didn't exist anymore as the brain continued to function as long as oxygenated blood fed the brain cells. Khajiit was fully conscious and dying slowly with the lack of oxygenated blood flowing into his brain with the destruction of his heart until Shirou brought his feet down and pulverized the dying neocromancer's skull with his magically enhanced strength.

"Let's go, Clementine. We have to deal the undead army and someone to rescue."

\- O -

"This is where the scent goes into…" Shirou muttered as sniffled the air while he entered the crypt.

"You are like a bloodhound…" Clementine commented as she allowed her hatred of her new master evident in her voice.

"I am hardly insulted. In fact, I take it as a compliment. My 'bloodhound' nose has helped me to save many people and hunted down numerous criminals." Shirou replied proudly. "Now, do you remember Khajiit setting up any traps?"

Clementine wanted to keep her mouth shut. The wish to live was starting to bite her back in the ass. She didn't want to help the man, who had killed her and resurrected her. Her mouth automatically opened against her will. The thought of disobedience was quickly dispelled as she felt like her heart and lungs being gently squeezed as a reminder of disobedience.

"I don't think so. Khajiit was confident that no one be able to guard past either me or him. He didn't think that anyone would be able to get past us. Though, he might have left some alarm traps to notify that someone had entered the vicinity and that we needed to protect the power source." Clementine replied, against her will.

"It's seem the familiar contract from YGGDRASIL is working…" Shirou muttered as he walked into the crypt. "So, in the New World, the humans save for myself seem to be all categorized as NPCs… I wonder if I am the only player…?"

"Player…?!" Clementine repeated in shock as she froze up. "Are you telling me that you're a God?! Not a God-kin?!"

"Hoh?" Shirou said in a very interested tone as he turned around. "Are you telling me you know something?"

For the first time since she was had been resurrected, Clementine felt like she was in control for once. She smirked as she tauntingly looked at Shirou.

"Maybe?" Clementine said in an innocent tone as her smirk grew.

"Tell me everything you know," said Shirou in an annoyed tone.

Clementine's smirk grew as she thought how much enjoyment she was going to get from withholding the information that her captor wanted. Her glee didn't last long when her mouth opened like before against her will. She screamed at herself to not tell him, but like before it felt like her heart and lungs were being squeezed as a warning.

"I don't know much, even as a high-ranked member of the Black Scripture. What I do know is that YGGDRASIL was the world of the gods. That the Six Great Gods and many other powerful being known as Players descended from." Clementine answered in a robotic tone. "That is everything that I know regarding Players and YGGDRASIL."

"So, the Slane Theocracy might know more. That is good to hear. Though, I wonder why Nigan and Linda wouldn't have known? They did say that they were part of the Sunlight Scripture…" Shirou mused. "I can think about this later. I have someone to rescue." He shook his head and then turned to Clementine. "Didn't you also say that magic source for the spawning of the undead army was here?"

This time Clementine was forthcoming with the information. She had already felt it happen twice. Her mouth speaking against her will. Trying to keep her mouth shut was useless when asked a question.

"Yes," said Clementine. "The magic source for creating the undead army is not far ahead."

"If I create of the source of the undead army, will it cease to exist or just prevent more of the undead from spawning?" Shirou interrogated Clementine.

"I don't know. I am not a mage and Khajiit, who knows all the answers, is dead." Clementine answered willingly. "I guess the undead army would stop spawning of their power source was cut off."

Shirou for a moment debated whether or not to resurrect Khajiit. He quickly shook his head. There was no way that he was going to resurrect Khajiit. The New World wasn't a video game. While there were elements that shouldn't exist in real life, the New World was no doubt reality. Likely a parallel world from Earth. There was absolutely nothing redeemable about Khajiit. He hadn't been trying to make a harsh decision like one might make for the greater good. He had been trying to sacrifice thousands of human lives for his own personal gain to become a Lich.

It wasn't just that Khajiit was unredeemable in Shirou's mind that he didn't want to resurrect. Unlike Clementine, who could be forced to repay for the evil she had committed as forced labor, Khajiit had the arcane knowledge and magical ability to potentially free himself from Shirou's grips. There was no way he was taking a chance to allow Khajiit to harm even more. The only way to resolve the situation at hand was with his own hands.

"Leady the way to the magic source." Shirou beckoned at Clementine.

The woman huffed. She didn't want to lead the way, but the gentle squeezing of her hearts and lungs reminded her that she was on a leash. If she wished to continue living than she would have to obey her new master unless she wanted to find herself dead. She walked deeper into the crypt and Shirou followed.

It was several minutes later that Shirou found himself before structure that had been clearly prepared for a specific reason. What the purpose of the structure was easy to discern when he saw a gigantic and complex magic circle engraved on the ground. Shirou looked around and inspected the area. He found out that a complex Bounded Field that used the lingering spirits of the dead to once more inhabit the world of the living by powering and controlling the undead.

Shirou looked at the center of the Bounded Field to found was a woman standing in the room. She wore a transparent shift which drew attention to her body, but Shirou's attention was on her face. Someone had cut her across the face and punctured her eyes. From the tear-shaped clots of reddish-black blood that wept down her cheeks, it was clear that she was now blind.

It was times like these that Shirou sighed in relief. His appearance in the New World had altered him. He had gained abilities and skills that he would've never been able to do in real life. Outside of his specialty magecraft revolving around his Reality Marble, the most he could do was basic feats of other magecraft and never beyond that due the limitation of his element and origin.

"Thanks to my abilities of my YGGDRASIL avatar, I can heal most, if not all, physical wounds, but healing the mind is beyond me…" Shirou said in displeasured.

His gaze settled on the spiderweb-like crown that rested on blinded woman's head. The Crown of Wisdom was a very frightened tool. It was not frightening to Shirou because it enhanced the wearers magical might. He knew numerous Mystic Codes and Noble Phantasms that could do the same. What was frightening about the item was that it turned wielder into a mindless doll. A terrible fate.

"Ahahahaaaaa!" Clementine began to laugh as she enjoyed the concerned expression of her captor.

"Why are you laughing?!" Shirou shouted in a looked furiously at the amused Clementine.

Clementine's face went sour the moment she realized what she had done without knowing. She should have instead kept her reaction to herself and just enjoyed what she had been seeing within the safety of her own mind. Now, she was going to have to spill the beans and prepare for the worst to come. That didn't mean she was going to enjoy herself to the end.

"That girl before you was once a male! Her name is Nfirea Bareare. You should have seen her scream as I tortured her." Clementine replied earnestly as she wore a victorious smirk.

"Nfirea Bareare… So, this must be the… the one that Lizzie Bareare had sent me to rescue." Shirou muttered and then he turned to Clementine. "Were you the one to kidnap Nfirea?"

She smiled gleefully. "Of course, I did. Who else would?"

"You know what? I cannot kill you because you're too valuable as a tool and source of knowledge. What I do know is various methods to punish you and wish that you never take pride in the horrendous things you do." Shirou said with a smile that sent shivers down Clementine's spine and made her fear for her life. "You know what I know just the thing to do."

"No, please stay away! Stay away!"

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	12. Team Chaldea

**Chapter Twelve "Team Chaldea"**

"Master, why are we going?" Clementine asked her master in wonder as she followed.

Shirou never replied to Clementine. He just continued to walk briskly without saying a word. They continued to walk in silence as Clementine could only guess where they were going. The destination was unknown until Shirou walked up to the front entrance of a very famous and lavish inn and opened the door to enter the building.

There were many individuals. Many of the individuals' occupations were recognizable from the medals around their necks as adventurers. Adventurers were looking at her master and surprisingly even at Clementine with respect and worship. Clementine was surprised that she looked at with the awe that was similar to what her master was receiving.

"The medal." Shirou whispered like she had read Clementine's mind.

It clicked in Clementine's mind that she had forgotten about the medal that she currently wore. Clementine turned down to look at the adamantium medal that hung over her chest. The metallic plate hung in front of her chest was a symbol of a living legend, humanity's trump card that protected them from even the strongest monsters that threatened humanity. The blonde haired woman couldn't help but think back when the religious believers of the Six Gods looked at her in admiration when she wore the uniform of the Black Scripture.

Shirou entered the inn. He nodded in acknowledge at the looks that were directed at him. His footsteps left no sound in their wake and he moved in a manner that made him seem to blend in the background, losing the looks that had been directed. Clementine followed her master's example, but couldn't help to marvel her master, who shouldn't be versed in the skills he was presently demonstrating. It was rare but mages were known to learn how to use weapons to defend themselves from their glaring weakness and that was physical combat. A mage that knew stealth was something that Clementine had rarely heard about. Clementine was further impressed that the level of stealth that her master was displaying was not that of an amateur or expert but that of a master. The same level of stealth skills that Clementine had learned over her long career as an assassin.

 _The more I observe, my master, the more questions I have than answers. Each time I think I am about to unravel a mystery; the mystery thickens._ Clementine mused. Her musing was cut short when she felt her cloak being thrown up. Clementine screamed, "Hey! Who did that?!"

If entrancing into the inn had caught only some attention then now everyone was looking. It wasn't at her master, he had disappeared seemingly into thin air. Clementine blushed as she saw mixed reactions amongst the crowd. Most of the female population was disgusted by Clementine's appearance. Only a few women and nearly every man looking at her with either lust or impressed. It was at that instant that Clementine wished she could hide herself.

She quickly reached to cover herself with the cloak when she found her hands touching nothing, but air.

 _What is going on?_ Clementine blinked in confusion reached around for her cloak only to find it missing. _Who…MASTER!_ She screamed in her mind in fury. _Where is he?! I am going to…_

"Do you have no shame?!" A woman shouted in outrage and many other women started making similar comments.

"Don't insult her! It takes a lot of courage to show that much skin. What she does is her decision." A man shouted in Clementine's defense and nearly every man nodded his head.

"You are only saying that because you're enjoying the sight!"

"Is there something wrong with a man showing his appreciation of the female body?!"

The shouting about woman's appearance started a discussion amongst many of the bar patrons, but Clementine quickly zoned out as she tried to make herself disappear. Clementine was about to make a mad dash when she was stopped.

 _No. I order you to stand there._ Clementine heard her master's voice in her mind, but she swore he was also snickering in the background.

 _What do you mean stand here?! Do you know how humiliating this is?!_ Clementine screamed back in her mind.

It was not uncommon that female fighters exposed generous proportions of their bodies. There were various reasons why female fighters might expose their skin. One and the most obvious reasons was that to show off their beauty and to bask in the attention they got. Another and more practical reason was that a woman exposing their skin tended to distract and sometimes stopping men from attacking, giving women either buying women valuable time to strike or escape. Those female fighter that exposed their skin were normally those that served as a support role such as healers, mages and archers far from the frontline and in the backline or they were lightly armored combatants where agility and speed was prized such as flanking the enemy.

Clementine too had used her beauty to her advantage many times for many purpose. She had started her career as an assassin that used her beauty and charm to infiltrate enemy territory and use seduction to enthrall her target before eliminating them. Then as her proficiency with the blade and physical prowess grew that she could fight in the frontlines despite wearing light armor and lightly armed.

She was completely and utterly humiliated by her current appearance. It was one thing to be an assassin, where she exposed her body to seduce her target to lower their guard and then eliminating them, or fighting in the frontlines where she used a bit of exposed skin to distract her opponents. Exposing nearly her naked body to dozens of people was not what she could bear.

 _I hate you Master!_ Clementine screamed mentally as she was frozen in place like a doll and forced to endure the humiliating act of being looked at either in disgust or lust.

\- O -

Climb walked into the inn and was baffled by what he saw when he entered the room. The inn was popular place to eat and drink, but he had never seen a time where the front entrance was blocked. He apologized as he pushed his way through the crowd at the entrance.

It took some time, but Climb found the two figures sitting around a circular table.

One of them had a small stature and was wrapped in a jet-black robe. The face was hidden not because of the lighting, instead it was entirely covered by a strange mask with a red jewel embedded in its forehead. The area around the eyes had a thin crack so that it was impossible to even tell the color of the pupils.

And the other figure...

Although the person before had a small body, the other possessed an overwhelmingly huge physique. Enough to make one think of a huge rock. In a way, the body could be described as plump, but not because it was fat. First, the arms were as thick as tree trunks. In order to support the head, the neck was as thick as an average woman's thighs, and the head resting on top of that neck was a square. The chin was wide as to better clench the teeth for power, the eyes for scanning the surroundings looked like the eyes belonging to a carnivore. The blond hair was cut short strictly for functionality. Muscles trained over and over conspicuously bloated the chest hidden behind her clothes. It was no longer the chest of a woman.

The female-only adamantium rank adventurer team in the Re-Estize Kingdom – Blue Rose. They were two of its members, mage Evileye and warrior Gagaran.

Climb headed in their direction. The person whom he needed to speak to nodded her head and shouted in a husky voice. "Yo, cherry boy!"

"It has been a long time, Gagaran-sama, Evileye-sama." He approached the two and bowed his head.

"Yeah, long time no see. What, did you come here because you wanted to be embraced by me?" While motioning with her chin to take a seat, Gagaran asked him with a beast-like grin across her face.

But Climb shook his head with a blank expression.

This was also part of Gagaran's usual banter. Although it was a greeting, it did not mean that she was joking. If Climb ever replied in the affirmative, even in jest, Gagaran would immediately drag him with overwhelming strength, without any chance for retaliation. Gagaran, who would openly proclaim that plucking a 'fresh cherry' was her hobby, was that type of person.

Different from Gagaran, Evileye stared directly in front of her and showed no sign of turning her face. You could not even tell which direction the eyes beneath the mask were pointing.

"What is with it being so crowded her today? I had a hard time getting into here because the entrance was blocked by people." Climb asked as he sat down.

For some reason the atmosphere became dark and depressing. Gagaran furiously scorned and even Evileye, who Climb couldn't see her expression due to the mask she wore, had an angry body language.

"A whore is attracting all their attention." Evileye said in an anger tone.

"Whore?" Climb repeated in confusion.

"Evileye is just pissed off." Gagaran replied. "The woman that is attracting the crowd is not simple a 'whore.' She might be dressed even more scandalously by the standards of whores, but there is something that is unheard about her."

"What is it?" Climb asked curiously.

"The woman is an adamantium-class adventurer." Evileye said in seething tone.

"ADAMANTIUM-CLASS ADVENTURER?!" Climb shouted in disbelief. He quickly blushed red when he saw everyone around him looking at him strangely before looking away, returning their attention to the 'whore.' That made Climb a bit more cautious and self-aware about his surroundings. "Who is she?"

"No one knows anything about her. Only two things. That she is an adamantium class adventurer because of the adamantium medal around her neck. The other is her name. Clementine. Before you ask, how we know. It is rather simple. One of the staff from the adventurer's guild when to look up her name as there are very few admantium-class adventurers in the Kingdom." Gagaran explained.

"Why is Evileye so pissed?" Climb inquired as he glanced over to Evileye, who was clearly fuming in anger.

"Why don't you see for yourself," said Gagaran as she walked over to Climb.

"Wait… WAIT!" Climb shouted in alarm. "WHAT ARE YOU DO–?!"

Climb was soon sent flying into the air. He was not average boy. As the personal guard to royalty, Climb was very fit and his weight reflected muscular body. He was easily sixty kilograms of hard muscle. It was a testemant to Gagaran's very impressive strength that Climb was sent flying nearly five meters into the air.

"Look at the center of the crowd!" Gagaran shouted at the thrown Climb.

Deciding that he might as well go along with Gagaran's antics, Climb looked at the center of the crowd. What he saw was burned into his mind even if he wasn't able to look at the figure at the center of the crowd for too long as gravity took effect.

"Uffu!" Climb grunted as he felt Gagaran catch her with her incredible muscular and thick arms.

"Did you see?" Gagaran asked as she let Climb down onto the floor.

"How is she a whore? Her beauty matches those a high-class prostitute that only nobility and rich merchants can afford." Climb commented. He then shook his head. "No, that might be an understatement. She is so beautiful that the noblemen might go out to ask her hand in marriage."

"Evileye here," Gagaran smirked evilly, "has inferiority complex. Looked at her and compared it to that woman."

It didn't take a genius to deduce what Gagaran meant. Evileye despite trying to hide as much about her appearance as possible couldn't be compared to the woman that Climb had seen. Despite being an adult, many might dismiss Evileye as a child with her stature and her absolutely lack of womanly charms. In fact, Evileye was so lacking in that department Climb while not being a female himself could understand why Evileye might feel so anger about the woman as she was clearly everything that Evileye wished she might be.

"Hey! I am not jealous of that woman!" Evileye snapped as she saw Climb's pitying look. "Look at her! She has no decency. She might as well be naked!"

Climb was not convinced by Evileye's attempt to hide her jealousy, but he quickly dismissed that thought. He had to agree that Evileye was right about the woman's attire. She might as well be naked. In fact, the woman's attire seemed to defy physics. She was wearing two pieces of metal. One seemed like a seemed to look like a metal bra, but it barely covered anything. It only completely covered her nipples and parts of her breasts while completely revealing the rest of her cleavage with a metal band running underneath her breasts and over her back. The next garment the woman wore couldn't even be described to be a piece of clothing. It was piece of metal that barely covered her groin and anus.

"Evileye, you're an expert on magic. Do you think she is using magic to keep her clothes from falling off?" Climb asked curiously.

The question caught of Evileye off guard. Her emotional beef with the woman disappeared as she began to analyze information she had regarding the woman's bizzare and scandalous attire.

"The most obvious reason would be as you said. That magic either the woman is using magic or the her attire is enchanted to remain struck to her body. The magic that I know of that could be used would be…" Evileye trailed off as she began to use technical words that no one except a fellow mage would understand.

"Good work," said Gagaran.

"I was actually asking a honest question, but I completely forgot that Evileye-san is very passionate about magic…" Climb replied.

"…Now that I remember, didn't you ask Evileye for something awhile back? Was it magic training?" Gagaran recalled.

"Yes." Climb replied.

Climb glanced over at Evileye. Back then, it was turned down by a scoff from inside the mask. No doubt that bringing up the same topic when nothing has changed will have the same result.

"Kid," said Evileye as she snapped out of her musing. "You don't have the talent. Try something else."

A crude remark, as if that was all that she needed to say. Climb himself knew at least that much better than anyone. He did not have any talent for magic. No, not only magic. In other fields too. No matter how much he swung his sword, no matter how much he bled and hard his hands became from the blisters, he could not reach the level that he wanted. The wall that those with talent would easily overcome, even that became an absolute obstacle that he could not traverse. That was why he had collided into the barrier that allowed him to break through the gold class strength.

Even so, that was not a reason for him to be lazy with his efforts to cross over that wall. As long as he was talentless, the only thing he could do was believe that his efforts will allow him to take at least one step forward and break through that unassailable barrier through the only means that he had: training.

"It seems you can't accept it." As if she read Climb's emotions beneath his expressionless iron mask, Evileye continued to speak. "Those who possess talent have it from the very beginning... Some claim that talent is simply a bud that has yet to bloom and that everyone has it… Hmph. I see it as nothing more than envy. Words like that are so the inferiors can console themselves. The leader of those famous Thirteen Heroes was the same."

Climb calmly nodded. Internally that was whole different story. He wanted seethed at the fact that Evileye tarnished the idol, the leader of the Thirteen Heroes, that he had for himself. The legend went that in the beginning, the hero was just an ordinary person. Although that person was weaker than anyone, the hero became the strongest by endlessly swinging a sword despite being covered in wounds. The hero possessed a power that could rise without end.

"But that person's talent had simply not bloomed at that time. You're different, even with effort you're still only at your current level. Talent undoubtedly exists. There are those who have it and those who do not. So… I won't tell you to give up but at least know where you stand." Evileye's cold words brought a curtain of silence. And it was she herself who broke that silence. "Gazef Stronoff… now that one is a good example of a human with talent. Climb… do you believe that you can fill the difference between the two of you with hard work?"

No words came out of Climb's mouth. There was no denying Evileye's statement. He had the rare and honored privilege to witness Gazef's strength firsthand. It was no exaggeration that the legendary Royal Guard Captain was talented. There was no other explanation to describe the sheer strength that he possessed otherwise. The strength that made him into a living legend.

"Stronoff-dono is indeed unarguably a genius." Climb grudgingly agreed.

"Actually, he might not be a fair comparison. The only ones I know of who can rival his talent with the sword are the Thirteen Heroes. Gagaran here is fairly skilled but still can't beat him."

"…Don't ask for the impossible. Gazef-ojisan is someone with one foot in the realm of heroes." Gagaran replied to Evileye's words with a laugh.

"Hey, hey, Evileye. Weren't the heroes considered to be monsters with talent that was in a different league – the type transcending the realm of humans?"

"… I won't deny it."

"And I'm only human. It's impossible for me to reach the level of those heroes."

"…" Evileye clicked her tongue behind her mask. "…I guess you won't stop even if I say it like this."

"No."

"You are foolish, truly foolish."

She shook her head, unable to understand him.

"Moving forward with an unreachable wish will definitely ruin your body. I'm repeating myself, but know where you stand."

"I understand what you are trying to say."

"But I see you have no intention of listening. You are beyond foolish. It will lead to an early grave. … Won't there be someone who will cry if you were to die?"

"Huh? What's this, Evileye? Were you bullying Climb because you were worried about him?"

Evileye's shoulders slumped at these words. She grabbed Gagaran by the collar with her gloved hand and shouted as she stared at her.

"The meathead needs to shut her mouth!"

"But I'm right though, aren't I?"

Evileye could not say a word to Gagaran who remained calm even when she had her by the collar. She leaned deeply into her chair and, trying to change the topic, turned her arrow to Climb.

"First, increase your knowledge of magic. If your knowledge improves then you may be able to predict the moves of your enemies who use magic. Then you will be able to respond appropriately."

"Hey, you know how many different spells there are and you're telling him to study all of that? Aren't you being too cruel?"

"That's not true. There is a common pool of spells that a mage typically focuses on. He can start by studying those." Evileye implied that if Climb couldn't even manage that, he should give up.

"No matter how many there are, he'll probably be able to manage if he can study the spells up to the 3rd tier." And for some reason, Evileye showed a brief moment of hesitation before opening her mouth. "Climb. Even if you desire power, don't give up your humanity."

"Give up on my humanity…? Are you speaking of the likes of demons that appear in stories?"

"That and others like turning into an undead or magic life forms."

"A normal human cannot do something like that."

"That's true… but turning into an undead will often twist your heart as well. Desiring perfection, becoming an undead to achieve one's ideal… the heart will be tempted by the changing flesh and the resulting transformation will be terrifying." A tinge of pity could be felt from the voice behind the emotionless mask. Evileye looked as if she was staring far off into the distance.

"So there is no method for someone talentless like me to become someone as strong as an adamantium class." Climb said in self-defeat.

A voice suddenly shouted in outrage interrupting Climb, Evileye and Gagaran in their conversation.

"Don't underestimate the talentless!"

\- O -

Shirou was laughing at all the feeling that was going through Clementine's mind. Yet, at the same time, Shirou listened to the conversation taking place in the room. Nothing really noteworthy, but there was one conversation between the other two adamantium class adventurers that caught his attention. What was being discussed Shirou was reminded of himself. It was when the boy admitted in defeat that he could never become as powerful as an adamantium class that the connection that the boy had with Shirou's past became solidified.

"Don't underestimate the talentless!" Shirou suddenly shouted in outrage, interrupting the conversation.

The three individuals that had been interrupted glanced at Shirou with surprised looks.

"Don't underestimate the talentless." Shirou reaffirmed. He looked at the two adamantium class adventurers, Shirou got their names – Gagaran and Evileye – from the conversation, with a grave expression. "You have a gall to insult every single individual that has to work for their lack of talent."

Evileye and Gagaran looked at one that interrupted them with interest because the first thing they noticed about the one to rudely interrupt their conversation was the adamantium medallion that dangled on Shirou's neck, the very medal that they wore.

"It is rude to not introduce yourself." Gagaran spoke.

"Agreed." Evileye nodded.

"Shirou Emiya. Leader of the recently established adamantium class adventurer team, Chaldea." Shirou introduced.

"The Chaldea? The same adventurers that completely annihilated an undead army and several skeletal dragons." Climb interrupted as he looked at the newcomer in awe.

"Yes. That would be us." Shirou confirmed. "Except for the part that we completely annihilated an entire undead army. That undead army was huge. It numbered in the thousands. My team and I took down several hundreds but our largest contribution had been taking down the mastermind behind the undead army and the necromancers that controlled and supplied the undead army with mana to maintain their existence. The guards of E-Rantel and other adventurers were responsible for the ultimate destruction of the undead army. I heard another and newly formed adamantium team, the Darkness, was also involved." The white haired man corrected. "Now getting back to what I originally spoke up for. I am sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I had to because you were crushing the boy's dream. You, Evileye-san, keep insulting him because he is talentless but to condemn him with the view that it is impossible for him to reach adamantium class is unforgivable. I happen to be someone without talent that had reached the realms of heroes."

Climb looked at Shirou with amazement. He saw someone as something as a possible idol for what he was hearing. He was someone that embodied the very thing that Climb sought to become. Someone that was proof that he could adamantium class was within his grasp no matter how far away it seemed.

The look of amazement that Shirou was getting was nothing special. Rather it had become a common experience after all the memories he had inherited from EMIYA that he had come to brush such awestruck looks like it was another day in life.

Like usual, Shirou was working with half-truths.

One could say that he was indeed talented. Anything that had the concept of sword related to magecraft was within his Origin as Sword was in his abilities to take beyond what most would hope to accomplish, but that applied only to magecraft relating to his Origin. Any magecraft that was outside of his Origin was an uphill battle up the steepest of mountains. He was someone talented with related with magecraft related to swords and everything outside of swords with the concept of swords was where he was talentless. Still that didn't mean it was impossible. It just took a life faced with hardship and not faltering in their path to travel down it until the end. His ability to use magic outside of those not related to swords was evidence that the talentless could match the talented.

"If you have been eavesdropping on your conversation than you should know that you're one of those who are talented but happened to be a late-bloomer." Evileye refuted as she thought differently on the topic.

Normally, Shirou wasn't the type to go revealing his abilities for in fear of someone spying on him and keeping tabs on his abilities so that they could exploit the revealed information against her, but his instincts told him that the present situation was the right time. Climb represented the individual that he had once been, the naïve and weak individual, prior to the life-defining Fifth Holy Grail War.

" _Trace On._ " Shirou chanted.

Those within the room with any ability to detect magical energy or had sharp instincts alerted of the something dangerous happening.

Evileye as the most skilled mage beside Shirou within the room felt an invisible and condensed concentration of mana being given off in steadily the white haired man give off. In her immortal life of two and half centuries, there had been only a few experiences that she felt very powerful magic like the one that was unfolding before her. She had the suspicion that was she was witnessing was the tip of iceberg and that the caster was displaying a fraction of the true potential that magic the silver-eyed man was using.

"This is…" Gagaran whispered with widened eyes.

Gagaran was one of the only ones in the room that had the experience and instinct to discern a weapon's potential at a glance. The weapons that materialized around the room, harmlessly placed flat on various flat surfaces were peerless in their construction and forged out of the finest materials. Every single weapon she saw was equal or superior to her personal weapons, which had been brought over years of saving funds as an adventurer until she reached adamantium class, and soon she found the entire inn transformed into an arsenal filled with weapons fit for adamantium class fighters.

"Climb-san, this is a culmination of a lifetime of hard work. Magic that I worked all my life to improve. You can achieve something of this caliber if you apply yourself and continue the path regardless of hardship and what others say. I did it. You can do it." Shirou spoke in a soft and gentle tone.

Climb's eyes literally glittered with light at the magnificence he saw. It was like he was looking at a divine being. Someone that was the very peak of what he sought to reach telling him that she had once been an ordinary individual like him. He could only imagine if he achieved something…

Shirou quickly realized the attention that he was attracting and dismissed the weapons. The weapons disappeared like it had all been a dream. Motes of light shimmered as the very energies that made the Mystic Codes and Noble Phantasms disappeared.

"…" Evileye was left speechless.

"Just keep in mind what I said. The journey will be tiring and hard, but there is always an destination waiting for you." Shirou spoke then left the inn and disappeared like an ethereal spectre.

"Shorty, I think you might want to rethink your opinion about talent." Gagaran guffawed out.

"Shut up!" Evileye snapped as she began kicking at the manwoman.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	13. Arcane Tome

**Chapter Thirteen "Arcane Tome"**

Shirou came to a long stretch of wall. Three towers – each five stories tall – rose from within those walls. Their height was made even more imposing by the fact that they were the tallest buildings around. These towers were surrounded by several long and narrow two-story buildings. What he was looking was the headquarters of the Kingdom's Mages' Guild. They needed ample space for the development of new spells and the training of mages. The reason why they could afford all this land despite having practically no national support was probably due to their manufacture and sale of magic items.

After walking a little further, he saw a sturdy gate. The latticed gate yawned open, and on either side of it were several armed guards, stationed near the two-story buildings. The guards did not obstruct Shirou, although they quickly looked him over, and he passed through the gate.

There was a gently sloping wide staircase before him, and a set of doors which opened into a distinguished-looking detached house. Naturally, these doors were open, to welcome visitors.

Upon entering, he found himself in a small entrance hall, with the building's lobby before him. A number of magical chandeliers hung down from the high ceiling of the latter room. On the right was a guest lounge that contained a sofa and several other pieces of furniture. There were mages conversing within. On the left was a notice board. Several people were studying it in earnest; some wore robes and looked like mages, while others seemed to be adventurers.

There was a counter in the innermost reaches of the hall, and there were several young men and women seated behind it. All of them wore robes, and they had badges on their chests which matched the symbol he had seen while entering the building. On either side of the counter stood a pair of skinny wooden dolls, of the kind used for sketching. They were the size of actual humans and they had no facial features – Wood Golems, in other words. Apparently, they were being used as sentries. The fact that they had not posted any human sentries inside must have been pride on the part of the Mage's Guild, the outside sentries notwithstanding.

Shirou' shoes pounded out a steady beat as he approached the counter. The young man at the counter noticed Shirou and greeted him with a look. Shirou nodded in return.

"Welcome to the Mage's Guild. How may I help you today?" The receptionist asked.

"Can I see a list of what is being offered?" Shirou asked.

"Certainly."

The youth quickly brought a large tome to the counter. The pages of the book were made of high-quality paper that was thin and white as snow, while its cover was made of leather. The overall article was of exquisite construction. The letters upon the cover were imprinted in gold, and the cost of this book alone probably beggared belief.

Shirou brought the book over to himself and paged through it. At first glance, the words before him was gibberish as he had didn't know the written language before him. A moment later, the maxed Language Translation Skill that Shirou had maxed out on his YGGDRASIL avatar automatically translated into something he could comprehend. It was this magical translation that Shirou was grateful for the many blessing he got for being YGGDRASIL player in the New World.

A swiftly, yet carefully, scanned through the pages. What he found was many magic spells that would be both used in the video game, YGGDRASIL, and in real life by real magic users. Combat-orientated magic spells made a large number of the magic spells he saw, but what he saw made a majority of magic spells were actually not designed for combat at all. Most were magic spells that could be used in lieu of many technological tools that Shirou was used too. For example, simple things from magic lights that replaced flashlights to two-way scrying that replicated the effects of video calling.

While Shirou continued to read through the book, he couldn't help but think about what he was confirming. The mages and magic users of the New World were very different from those back on Earth. It was very obvious that magic of the New World was heavily influenced by the magic system in YGGDRASIL, but had soon branched out to fields that outside of the YGGDRASIL magic system as it was a magic system used solely for gaming often limited to direct and support combat-orientated magic.

A giggle very close to him caught Shirou's attention. He looked away from the book and at the source of the giggling. It happened to come from girl beside the receptionist at the counter.

"Is something the matter?" Shirou gently asked.

"Ah, it's nothing…" The girl blushed and lowered her face. "I just thought… you looked very handsome."

"Thank you very much. I am grateful for your compliment."

Shirou smiled, and the girl's face flushed even redder. He was not amazed by the reaction he got. When he didn't try to hide his presence, he was a person who could mesmerize others on sight. He was good-looking, but the way he carried himself was even more striking. His beauty wasn't that deprived from plastic surgery or cosmetics to temporarily mask and enhance chosen physical attributes. It was something more primal. Strong and lean appearance that human males would have naturally possessed at the earliest stages of human civilization and before. Desirable physical traits that woman would naturally look for, drilled into their instincts thanks to human evolution, to better increase their chances of their progeny.

When he walked on the streets many women, regardless of age, would turn to take a second look at him. It was no wonder that the counter girls found themselves entranced by him, and it was also a common occurrence. Shirou found that understandable and gave the girl a smile before returning to the book.

It was nearly an hour later that Shirou finished reading through the book.

"I would like to buy everything. All the magic spells listed in this book. I would prefer magic tomes if possible, but magic scrolls will also acceptable." Shirou calmly replied.

"…" The receptionist was left stunned by Shirou's request before he realized that he was rudely staring at the customer and recomposed himself. "Sir, that is going to… cost a lot of money…"

"Money isn't an issue," said Shirou as he withdrew the adamantium medal that had been hidden underneath his shirt and placed it on the table for the receptionist to see clearly.

The young man swallowed nervously as he grasped the medal in disbelief. He pressed his fingers against the medal as hide as he could. His fingers began to creak and nails about to crack. Soon he ran his hand over the medal to feel the texture. Both the hardness and texture of adamantium. He looked at up Shirou in awe. Before him was not just any wealthy individual. Shirou was the pinnacle of adventurers, the trump card against monsters.

"Excuse me for my rudeness, sir. I just needed to make sure. By no means was I trying to insult you, sir." The young man apologized with a deep bow.

"It's okay. I perfectly understand," said Shirou as he held up his hand. "Can you fulfill my order?"

"There are two options, sir. The first is the least expensive, but it is troublesome for what you're asking is a small library of magic tomes. The most convenient, but also the most expensive option, special magic tome. It contains all the magic spells that you're asking for. All contained in a single magic tome. The last option is several times more expensive than the first."

What Shirou heard intrigued him. Having worked as a Special Designation Enforcer for the Mage's Association, Executor of the Church and a freelance mercenary, he was familiar with a myriad of magical methods to contain vast amounts of magical knowledge. Some more unbelievable than others.

"Although… It might not be within your wealth. Even for someone as respectful as yourself, sir." The youth replied in an unease tone, as if worried that Shirou would be insulted.

"Is this enough?" Shirou asked as he deposited several platinum coins onto the counter.

"More than enough, sir!" The youth shouted in amazement at the amount of money before him. "Still, sir…? Do you want the second option? I would recommend it if you don't have place for a library or constantly on the move."

Shirou paused to think for a moment. The inventory he had as a YGGDRASIL player allowed him to carry around an imaginable amount of items, no matter the bulk and weight. It was somehow stored in his soul, yet defying the laws of physics. He had yet to reach a limit to how much he could store or carry in his inventory, but that might change depending on how many books it would take to get all the magic spells he had requested.

 _Note to self: it might be time to start throwing out items that I don't need and need to keep._ Shirou thought to himself. "I want both option 1 and 2. I have a place large enough for a large library, but I also travel a lot too as an adventurer."

"Of, course, sir." The receponist nodded. "Ange! Contact the guildmaster that we have a special order. Ask him permission for _it_!"

The girl, who had been giggling and blushing while looking at Shirou before and still was, snapped out of her daze. Her eyes blinked in confusion before they widened. She looked at her coworker in disbelief for a moment before she got dead serious look.

"Please a bit, sir. It might take some time for get permission from the guildmaster," said the girl before she ran off.

"Is there a particular reason, why everyone is acting strangely?" Shirou asked curiously.

"I will not ruin the surprise, sir, and it is easier to see for yourself than to explain it. The object that you're requesting is very rare. Not in the way it is priceless treasure, where there no none other in the world like it. This item you're looking of buying, sir, takes a very long time to produce, the materials difficult to come by and very few mages are qualified to make it. It is so important that even nobles and merchants cannot get their hands on it."

"Hmmphhhmmm… I can understand for those reasons why it might be expensive. How come nobles and merchants cannot but it? Why do you need the guildmaster though? Could you not ask your immediate superior?" Shirou asked.

"I will not ruin the surprise, sir. What I can say is that the object, which I referred to ' _it_ ' contains all the magic spells that you read through our catalogue. Nobles and merchants are not allowed to possess _it_. To be allowed to buy _it_ there is a stringent requirement. That first the buyer is amongst the highest ranked member of the Mages' Guild."

"I don't meet that qualification as 'amongst the highest ranked member of the Mages' Guild' far from it." Shirou refuted.

"You would be an exception, sir. You might not have the talent to use magic, or if you do, unable to master a fraction of the magic spells contained in _it_. What matters is that you're an admantium-class adventurer, humanity's trump card. Humanity could ill-afford to lose one of their greatest fighters because they didn't have the knowledge to protect themselves against magic. Hence you would made an exception for the normal rules to _it_. Although, that is why I needed the guildmaster's authorization. Only he has the authority to make such a decision."

The explanation that Shirou heard made him revalue the worth of the adamantium medal around his neck. Shirou had been told upon receiving the adamantium medal, that it any wearer of it would gain the influence to go places where the doors would otherwise be closed to him. He had thought it had just been an over exaggeration, but it seemed that such wasn't the case.

When Shirou heard the heavy footsteps and clanking of what sounded like heavy armor, he looked up to see a small number of guards escorting someone of high importance. The man was skinny, who looked as frail as a bamboo pole and seemed at least somewhat anorexic. The clothes that he wore, magical robes, and the guards gave him so clue to who he was. His manner he carried himself matching what Shirou expected was the guildmaster would conduct himself.

"Welcome, Emiya-sama. Congratulations with your recent advancement of your rank as an adventurer. I must also thank you for what you had done with the recent Graveyard Incident. Had you not helped dealing with the undead army and the penetrators than there is no telling if myself and those of this guild branch in E-Rantel may still be alive," said the guildmaster gratefully as he bowed to Shirou. The guards and others in the guild also bowed their heads as they heard their guildmaster speak.

"I was only doing my job. There was no way that I was going to let a city full of innocent people to just die." Shirou replied.

"My name is Theo Rakesheer, guildmaster of E-Rantel's Mages' Guild." The guildmaster introduced himself.

"Greetings guildmaster, I am Shirou Emiya, but you already know that." Shirou introduced himself formally. "Why the heavy guard? Is it for your own protection?"

"No, no. I don't normally have guards escort me, only when I am travelling through dangerous areas," said the guildmaster. "The guards are to deter and prevent the stealing of this."

The guildmaster placed a very large and thick book on the counter before Shirou. Shirou looked at the book. For something so important and expensive it seemed ordinary book, save for being thicker and larger than most books. The only noteworthy feature of the book save for its size and thickness being thick layer of leather to protect the paper contents. Yet, the simplistic appearance as a very big and thick book didn't fool Shirou. Even without using his magical sight to discern the nature of objects and look at its history, Shirou could tell that it had been made with durability in mind. He was willingly to bet that it could be used as shield, and still survive unscathed.

"What is this? Why does your receponist call the book as _it_?" Shirou asked as he wanted to know the nature of the book without using his magical abilities.

The guildmaster unlatched the buckles that kept the book closed and opened it. He began to flick through the book, but every page was empty. Just blank white sheets. Nothing to suggest that it was worth several platinum coins, the wealth of minor nobility. Yet, Shirou wasn't fooled even without using his magical sight to discern its true nature. His instincts told him that the book was incredibly valuable. Further supported by the guildmasters words that didn't seem to be lies.

"At first glance, it looks a very large and empty book. It's true nature is revealed when run magic through it and ask it for arcane knowledge," said the guildmaster as he placed his hand against an empty page. "Fireball."

It was with a command and prana running through it that the book finally revealed its true nature. Ink bleed into the page as words and pictures began to form. Knowledge on everything that someone might need to know how to cast the magic spell, Fireball. It wasn't just information on how to learn it. There was information of all details from what fireball was capable of, when it was bested used and all sorts of information that a mage could know about fireball.

"This book is an _Arcane Tome_. A magical tome that contains all the arcane knowledge that its creators knew and could insert into it. It contains all the arcane knowledge of this branch, the E-Rantel Mages' Guild. A product of E-Rantel's most talented and knowledgeable mages' knowledge and reading material of this branch contained within. Something that took fifty years to make," said the guildmaster. "We also just recently added a newly discovered magic ritual. This magic tome doesn't just contain all the arcane knowledge that a mage might need. It is also capable of working like a magic scroll. Except the _Arcane Tome_ will not be destroyed after a single use. To my knowledge so far, there is no limit to how often the Arcane Tome is used in a manner simple to a magic scroll."

Shirou let out amazed whistle. For the amount of money that he was putting down, it was a very, very good bargain for Shirou. Some of the magic spells stored within the Arcane Tome he knew from YGGDRASIL and others as a mage on Earth. There were thousands more magic spells that he didn't know. The ability to use magic without much effort from his part as all he had to do was channel prana into the Arcane Tome and it did all the work. Stored arcane knowledge. All the features that would make it an invaluable to any would-be or properly trained mage.

"I would expect the Arcane Tome to be more valuable and expensive. The amount of money I put down doesn't seem to match the value of the Arcane Tome." Shirou said honestly.

"The Arcane Tome that I brought here is more potent and valuable iteration that my employee had requested that I give permission to be sold," said the guildmaster. "I am giving you the best variation of the Arcane Tome that this guild branch possesses. It is a reward for saving the lives of myself and my employees. Without the additional cost."

"Thank you," said Shirou gratefully.

"Please if you need any additional help or services of the Mages' Guild we shall be happy to assist. Excuse me, but I am very busy," said the guildmaster as he begin to leave and the guards followed him.

"Thank you for your patronage," the receptionist bowed politely as Shirou left the Mages' Guild.

\- O -

This was the Royal Capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom. In its heart, surrounded by a keep made from over twenty vast circular towers joined by curtain walls was the Royal Castle Ro-Lente. Within its depths lay the Valencia Palace. There was a room within the Palace that was more functional than decorative. Many nobles were gathered there.

The form of the Kingdom's Royal Guard Captain, Gazef Stronoff, was visible in their midst. He was currently genuflecting before the master to whom he had sworn his life, the man who sat on the throne, King Ranpossa III.

He seems to have gotten older. That was the impression the King gave him when he compared the man now to how he had been half a month ago, when he had set out. His beloved liege's pale hair was a mess, his skinny body could not be described as healthy by any stretch of the word, and his complexion was similarly poor. The hand which grasped his scepter was as slender as a dried branch, and the crown he wore seemed to hang heavily on his head. He had reigned for thirty nine years, and he was now sixty years old. He should have handed the throne to an appropriate successor, but the problem was that he had no such successor

It was not because there was a lack of princes to inherit the throne. On the contrary, there were two princes, but both of them were far from ideal. If he gave them the throne, they would become puppets dancing on the strings of the Great Nobles.

"Gazef, I am glad that you have returned safely." The King said in a soft tone.

"Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty!" Gazef replied gratefully as he bowed to his king.

"Umu. I have received some reports, but I would like to hear what happened from your own mouth, Gazef."

"Understood." Gazef responded with troubled tone. He was caught between two sides. A promise had been given. His word that he would keep some parts of his report secret. Then there was his loyalty to the kind. He had promised loyalty to the king. It was then he discovered a loophole that placed him at ease. Gazef had promised that he would keep the existence of the former Sunlight Scripture members and that Carne Village stood stand as a secret. He could simply give his full report later to the king while honoring his promise to Shirou Emiya to not revealing the complete truth to the nobles for them to exploit.

Gazef described in detail the events of what had happened after he left the Royal Capital and reached Carne Village. He paid particular attention about Shirou Emiya. And so, Gazef talked and talked. He narrated a heroic tale of a man who stepped in to right a wrong in his way, who plunged fearlessly into danger to rescue the villagers, with no regard to the cost to himself.

"Is that so? That certainly is a glowing review of him. To think, he would go into danger to save the weak…" the King muttered.

Several nobles exchanged patronizing gossip about Shirou Emiya. How he was a dangerous threat to the Kingdom. Something about that he might have staged the attack in order to advertise himself. Gazef strove to keep his anger from showing on his face. He felt profoundly useless for being unable to defend his savior from their words.

There was a reason for that, of course. That was because the nobles mocking Shirou had one thing in common. They were from one of the big factions in the Kingdom; that of the Great Nobles. Thirty percent of the Re-Estize Kingdom was directly ruled by the King, while the Great Nobles controlled another thirty percent. The remaining forty percent was a feudal domain which belonged to the other nobles. In addition, the Kingdom's leadership was divided into two factions, which struggled for power all day and night. On one hand was the Royal faction, while on the other was the Noble faction, which was composed of more than half of the Kingdom's Six Great Nobles. Though they were currently before the King, this was merely an extension of the battlefield where both sides did battle.

Because of that, Gazef – being of the Royal faction, and thus the King's trusted servant – was unwilling to interject casually. He knew that his own clumsy phrasings could not possibly defeat those nobles, so he had to instead minimize his own chances of misspeaking.

"...The Slaine Theocracy's secret forces knew how we were moving and showed up at the right time… that means there's a high chance of a spy within the Kingdom. That being the case, it might be one of the Noble faction's people..."

Gazef's gaze turned to one of the nobles, who had an exceptionally cold look in his eyes. His blond hair was tied back, and he had a pair of narrow, blue eyes. His skin was the same wan color unique to those who avoided the sun. He projected the image of a venomous snake that was only reinforced by his slim build. He should have been less than forty years old, but his unhealthy complexion made him seem older than that. His name was Marquis Raeven, one of the Six Great Nobles. He flitted between both factions like a bat for his own gain, and he was one of those who backed the King's second son.

 _If there was a traitor to the King, it should be him, right?_ Gazef thought to himself.

Sensing Gazef's eyes upon him, Marquis Raeven quirked up the edge of his already-thin lips. Gazef stiffened up even further in response to this provocation.

"Then let us conclude your report here, Gazef. There are other important matters to decide." Those tired words from the King briefly silenced the chatter from the clustered nobles. Gazef returned to the King's side and surveyed the nobles. As a man with the King's trust, he was already used to their displeased glares. "Then, if tradition holds, we ought to be going to war with the Empire in several month's time. Let us discuss how we will address this matter. Marquis Raeven, explain to everyone."

"Understood, your Majesty."

The ghost-like man walked silently before them, and began speaking in a low voice. Nobody interrupted him. Not only did he have influence in each faction, but he was also the most powerful of the Six Great Nobles. Nobody would dare make an enemy of him. Marquis Raeven outlined his plans for the future, describing how many men under arms he would require of each noble, all without meeting any opposition. When he was finished, he smiled haughtily and bowed to the King.

"…And that is all."

"Thank you, Marquis Raeven. Does anyone have any objections?"

The court became a sea of commotion once more, with people talking at and over each other.

"It's our turn to take the offensive. Let's attack the Empire while we're at it."

"Exactly! I'm getting tired of just beating back the Empire."

"Precisely. Let us show those fools in the Empire how frightening we can be."

"Indeed, you have it at that, Count-sama."

The laughter of lavishly-dressed men echoed through the court.

 _Don't be stupid. How refreshing it would be if he could actually say that._ Gazef thought to himself as he looked at the true nature of the situation.

The Kingdom and its neighbor, the Empire, faced off at the Katze Plains every year. To date, neither side had sustained heavy casualties, but that was only because the Empire had not committed its forces to the battlefield. If they truly intended to conquer the Kingdom, there would be no need for them to form up at the Katze Plains and await the Kingdom's army.

Gazef and some of the nobles who could use their brains felt that the objective of these events was to deplete the strength of the Kingdom.

Take for instance the Kingdom with its peasant levies, compared to the Empire and its professional corps of knights. It was immediately obvious whose troops were individually superior, which was why the Kingdom had to mobilize over twice as many troops as the Empire. As a result of fielding more men, they would need more rations for those men. Of course, there were some magic items which could produce food, but said food only qualified as such because of their nutritional value. Their taste was so revolting that even starving people would think twice about eating it. Thus, this magically created food could not substitute for proper rations.

In addition, the Empire chose the harvest season of the late-ripening wheat to invade, causing a lack of hands in the villages. This delayed the harvest of wheat and other grains. In this way, the Kingdom would weaken without the need for a full-scale invasion, and this would weaken the power of the Crown. Because of that, the Noble faction paid these consequences no heed. In fact, they were delighted by the Royal faction – their enemies – losing their power and influence.

 _Once the strength of the Kingdom fades, the Empire will invade in force. Do you think the enemy will truly be content with such small skirmishes? Why are you all so naive!?_ Gazef wanted to scream out.

The Noble faction believed that they would wield their absolute power forever. Gazef was particularly infuriated by these nobles.

"If that's the case, could it be that the suspicious hero, who aided the Gazef is a man from the Empire? Perhaps he intends to infiltrate us as a spy."

"Ah, I see. You're right. They say the Empire has an academy which trains mages, so that's very likely."

"The people of the Slaine Theocracy have a given name, a baptismal name, and a surname. However, what if his name is an alias?"

"I feel uncomfortable about someone like that appearing in the Kingdom. Perhaps we should think of some way to deal with him?"

"Perhaps we could consider capturing him alive. Frankly speaking, the real problem is the Adventurer's Guild. They count several mages in their number and do as they please. We need to deal with them as soon as possible. Perhaps we could make them our vassals or something."

"Then, there are the fees the Guild collects. The adventurers within the Kingdom charge a ridiculous sum to eliminate monsters within our borders!"

"The best solution would be to bring him back here."

Gazef could no longer remain silent after hearing this. There was no way he could allow them to continue badmouthing the person who had saved himself, his subordinates, and the villagers.

"A moment, if you please. To begin with, that mage is well-disposed toward the Kingdom; it would not be a wise decision to try and capture someone like—" Gazef had spoken in an attempt to redirect the increasingly biased talk within the court.

Several nobles reacted with looks of disgust. Gazef had reached his current position by the sole merit of his swordsmanship. He was little more than an upstart to these nobles with their long and distinguished histories. Thus, Gazef was the subject of much derision. The fact that nobody could match his martial skills only deepened the nobles' resentment. These highborn aristocrats could not bear to be outdone by someone of humbler origins than themselves.

Several nobles continued criticizing Shirou Emiya without waiting for Gazef to finish, and others joined in as well. Then came the watch of slowly growing threats to Shirou Emiya and excuses the nobles created to conscript him.

Any negative thoughts that Gazef had about the nobles disappeared when he began to internally laugh at the prospective of Shirou Emiya being threatened by any of the threats that the nobles were saying. Gazef remembered clear as day, who powerful Shirou Emiya was and capable of. He was more than capable of fighting an entire army by himself and likely nothing the nobles said to him would sway him. Shirou Emiya had after all fought a monster that Gazef and Brain was unlikely to ever beat, the vampire known as Shalltear Bloodfallen.

That was when Gazef made a bold proclamation than history would later record as the moment that would alter the fate of the Re-estize Kingdom.

"Try your worst. Send in your armies to forcefully conscript him. Shirou Emiya will take everything you can throw at him. Actually you will regret trying to anger him!"

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	14. Psychopath to Hero

**Chapter Fourteen "Psychopath to Hero"**

Clementine journeyed through the streets. The more she traveled the dirtier the streets became. The faint stench lingered on the air of garbage and other wastes. Most people would've felt disgusted and might have thrown up from the horrible smell that was become even stronger as she journeyed through the street. It was mild stench that caused her nose to wrinkled up, but otherwise not care about. She had faced worse. Way worse. The battlefield filled with dead and decaying bodies being one.

Poor districts tended to be a good place to hide people or just about any manner of items because the authorities tried to avoid the slums if possible as it smelled and was a dangerous place. It was also a good place to gather information as criminals and beggars tended to know a lot of things that was going on around any large population centers like towns and cities. Amongst many other things that poorer districts that only they provided.

"Should I go back?" Clementine wondered before she shook her head. She had time to kill. A lot of time. If she was to return to her master than it would likely result in more orders. Orders that she didn't want to obey as it constantly reminded her that while she was still alive, her continued existence had come with a significant cost. Her independence.

She continued walking through the narrow alleys. As Clementine forged silently ahead in the darkness, she saw a heavy steel door in front of her – about 15 meters away – suddenly creak to life as it opened, and light leaked out from within. Clementine stopped and watched silently.

Once the door had fully opened, someone poked their head out. The backlighting only allowed Clementine to see his silhouette, but the person was probably a man. Said man looked around, but he did not notice Clementine, and shrank back inside.

There was a thump as a large sack hit the ground outside. Illuminated by the light from inside, Clementine could see that the soft object inside had changed shape from the fall.

The door was still open, but the person throwing out the sack like so much garbage seemed to have gone back indoors, and there were no movements for a while.

Clementine frowned, debating over whether to move ahead or go in another direction. Sticking his nose into this would probably lead to trouble. After hesitating briefly, she continued her silent advance along the dark, narrow alley. Her shoes scraped along the ground, and she soon drew near the sack. Just as she was about to pass it, she stopped in his tracks.

Clementine felt something had caught onto her pants. Looking down, Clementine saw what the mouth of the sack sagged open. A slender arm, like a withered branch reached out from within the sack, grabbing onto the leg of his pants. The half-naked body of a woman appeared from within when the sack opened fully, exposing the woman's upper body.

Her blue eyes were dark, clouded over and empty of life. Her shoulder-length hair was messy, with split ends from malnutrition. Her face was swollen like a ball from beatings, and there were numerous pale red spots all over her dried-out, bark-like skin. She was a desiccated bag of bones, with hardly any vitality left in her. Her eyelids were so swollen that they were only separated by a thin slit. The cloudy pupils which seemed to be peering at the sky from within could not see anything at all.

Normally, the sight of someone in a similar condition to the woman before Clementine wouldn't cause even a single emotional response from her. She had seen some many people like her that she had become immune to it. Hell, she even got kicks out of it when she tortured individuals that she had to extract information from or had wronged her. There was no reason to feel any emotions from looking at the woman, but for some reason the woman reminded Clementine of herself. A time when she was very different individual. Long ago when she didn't possess the skills and experience that she now had. A Clementine that had been powerless to protect herself.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?!" A low, brutish voice. A man appeared from behind the door. His arms and chest bulged with muscle. His scarred face clearly displayed his hostility, and he glared hatefully at Clementine. The lantern he was holding emitted a red light. "Oi oi oi, the fuck you looking at?" The man clicked his tongue with exaggerated deliberation, and then jerked his chin at Clementine. "Fuck right off. While you're still in one piece."

Seeing that Clementine remained still, the man took a step forward. The door slammed shut behind him with a ponderous _thud_. The man slowly placed the lantern by his feet with an intimidating swagger. He worked his shoulders and cracked his neck. Then he slowly raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. He was clearly not afraid to use violence.

"Let's see who is underneath the hood and cloak!" The brute shouted as he pulled away the hooded cloak that Clementine had been wearing.

The anger that made the brute furious disappeared as the hooded cloak was wrenched away to reveal the identity of the individual that had pissed him off. A smirk grew on the brute's face. Greed glowing in his eyes as he inspected the woman standing before him. Any thoughts of hurting her when he began to lustfully look at her beautiful appearance and incredible hot body. She would make a perfect replacement to the trash that he had thrown out and make him a lot of money. On the side, he could get a lot of pleasure out of it too.

"What's... the smile for…?" The brute asked as he took several steps back he finally noticed the unnerving smile and predatory look that was being sent his way. "Uh… uh, uh, what're you…?"

Shaken by Clementine' smile, the man could not finish the words he was trying to form. He staggered back, without realizing how heavily he was panting.

Clementine smile continued to grow as she closed the gap to the man. The man could not even react to that movement. She moved so fast that she reappeared before the brute's eyes and Clementine to seized the man by the lapels, and then she easily lifted his body off the ground. Lifted up this heavyweight with one hand.

The brute, who had been lifted completely off the ground, flailed his legs and twisted his body. Then, when he thought to take Clementine' hand in both of his own, his eyes filled with fear as he realised something. He finally realised that the woman before him was nothing like what her appearance suggested. He also realised that pointless resistance would only serve to anger the monster before him.

"What are you doing?" Clementine asked in a very cold tone.

As the man began stiffening in fear, that cold voice bored its way into his ears. That voice was as clear and quiet as a softly-flowing brook, The sheer contrast with the hand that was easily lifting him up only heightened the man's fear. He was about to lie when the dangerous gleam he saw in the woman's eyes made him reconsider. It was obvious that he was in for a world of hurt, but he didn't sprout any lies. He knew what was coming for him and also the time of person that he was dealing with. He was dealing with someone that dealing out "justice" or out for vengeance. Lying only make him seem even more worthless as an individual, and considered as disposal. The truth might hurt, but it might save his life.

"She, she's a worker in our place," the man replied, his voice off-key from panic. The tightening of hand holding him up made him fanatically add, "The woman had become worthless because she was beat up by a customer. She was also not worth enough to be healed. So, I was taking her out."

"Tsk… I wanted you to lie to me and that would've given me a good excuse to have some fun." Clementine clicked her tongue in annoyance as the magical enforced servitude left very few loopholes to carry out her former past time of torturing and killing without a good reason, normally linked to carrying out her new role as unwilling hero.

The brute closed his eyes as prepared for the pain that was to come since he had annoyed his captor. No pain came. He sighed in relief. The relieve didn't last long as Clementine' grip intensified, and the man was briefly breathless. His eyes were wide in fear, trembling like those of a frightened little animal.

"Uggghhh!" The man struggled to breath.

"What do you mean, 'take out?' I hope it doesn't mean I thought it mean?!" Clementine said in a dangerously cold tone as she tightened her grip on the man, making it harder for him to breathe, and the man gave off a queer wail.

"I was going to leave her out here for the cleaners to dispose of her elsewhere. A dead human corpse wouldn't help the establishment if found on the brothel grounds would hurt our reputation. No one wants to see or smell a decaying corpse. Also, we didn't want diseases to spread because of it." The man hastily responded. "Aiiiieee!"

Clementine' grip grew even stronger, and the man's face flushed red as a cry leaked out of his throat. Her grip was relenting, and she glanced over to the badly injured and starved woman in the sack. It reminded her all too much of her own past. Painfully so. She felt phantom sensation as she could remember the pain all over her body and the bottomless hunger she had felt. It had been a chance encounter with a passing member with the Black Scripture that she and her brother had managed to escape the life of the woman in the sack.

"Please… stop…"

The man was having trouble breathing. He thrashed wildly as he realised the mortal danger he was in. Clementine casually blocked the fist headed at her face with one hand. The flailing legs hit Clementine body, but Clementine was as stoic as the mountains. The man was unable to breathe, and Clementine narrowed her eyes at the man's crimson face. She let go of the man just before he had passed out.

With a great _thump_ , the man fell to the alley floor.

"G-guwaaargh!" The main expelled the last dregs of air within himself as a gasped cry, and then greedily drank in the fresh air in big gulps.

Clementine continued looking down on him in silence. She wanted nothing more to kill the man standing before her. Not as just revenge for the terrible condition that the woman was in, but also for the man reminding her of part of life she had wanted never to remember again. Her smile grew when she didn't felt the physical and mental pain she got for torturing or killing someone. It seemed her magic enforcing her servitude sensed that she was playing the role of hero and allowing her to carry out her favorite pastime.

"I will be taking her with me," said Clementine as she reached out for his throat again.

"W-wait… p-please, wait!" Having personally experienced the terrors of oxygen deprivation, the man scrambled away from Clementine' hand. "She belongs to us by law! If you step in, you'll be breaking the country's laws! And if you dare take her away, that'll be kidnapping!"

Clementine stopped herself from frustratingly sigh. She had put the man on the ropes. Making him fear that she would torture or kill him if he didn't answer her questions truthfully. The fact that her captive had seemingly grown a spine when the street that had once been completely empty of human life and began to fill up. He was likely expecting someone to come to his aid, be it a stranger or an ally. She turned her frustration into glee when it came to her that she might be able to let lose for the first time in weeks since her resurrection and enslavement.

The magic that enslaved her to her master had set conditions that she had discovered over the weeks. There were not so many conditions as she had initially feared. A few were self-explanatory for anyone slave owner. One that the slave wouldn't harm or disobey the master. Two, run away. Besides those two conditions most slaves were free to do anything they wished as the more complicated the slaving magic or magical item, the more expensive it became. She had discovered that additional conditions that she couldn't carrying out her favorite pastime, torturing and killing whoever she wished.

 _Now is the time. I am only protecting myself if anyone comes at me_. Clementine thought in glee.

"I am not just a simple thug. I work for Eight Fingers," said the man in a smug tone. "Leave the girl and walk away. I will pretend nothing had happened and whoever you work for will not suffer the wrath of the Eight Fingers."

Clementine froze up. The man had played on her greatest possible weakness. While her master had said that she could take overt action when the situation called for it, that was only when she was scouting out the Royal Capital. Her master had been very clear that she was not to attract attention to herself, if possible. Drawing upon the attention of the Re-Estize Kingdom's most powerful and largest criminal organization was not something she wanted to do. Given that the Eight Fingers were said to control the Re-Estize Kingdom from the shadow, Clementine was willingly to bet that the Eight Fingers or using their connections with the authorities would lead to an investigation. In other words, doing so might lead to major and obvious repercussions, which her master would not smile upon.

Clementine froze up, the man began to crudely laugh at the opportunity that he had found. For the first time, Clementine' brow knitted in visible frustration as she took in the man's mirthful expression.

"I don't know who you serve, but won't you cause trouble for your master if things get blown up? And who knows, your master might have ties with our establishment. Not afraid of being scolded?"

The belittling didn't affect her. Clementine had been insulted in more humiliating ways and by masters of words. It was not the man or what the Eight Fingers could do that made Clementine pause to think. She, Clementine, was a former 9th Seat of the Black Scripture. Amongst the peak of human fighters. Beyond even adamantium-class adventurers unless they were specially equipped and devised special methods to fight her, even then they would have to be a group of them to have any chance of taking her down. She could probably take down a bulk of anything the Eight Fingers could throw at her. Clementine didn't fear what the Eight Fingers could do.

What had made her pause to think was her master. He was an incredible dangerous man. Someone that was not afraid of the Eight Fingers. No, it was the Eight Fingers that should be scared of him. He was no ordinary human, as he was God-kin. A descendant of the Six Great Gods. The one that had killed her easily without breaking a sweat. Resurrected and turned her into a slave. She feared feeling the wrath of her master, Shirou Emiya, if she ruined any of his plans.

 _…Wait a moment… Why would my master send me to scout out Re-Estize if he already had connections with the Eight Fingers?_ Clementine wondered and then a dangerous smirk grew on her face. "My master has no connections to the Eight Fingers. In fact, thinking about it… I think he would order me destroy the Eight Fingers."

That seemed to have gotten through to the man, and fear flashed across his face for a moment. However, he recovered his confidence almost immediately.

"...Why don't you give it a try, then?" The brute taunted with a smirk. His smirk disappeared as quickly as it had formed when he screamed in pain. "Aaarrrgggghh! Wat dis' ou do t'at fuh?"

Clementine didn't bother to waste any more time with the trash before her. She delivered a blow to the throat to crush the man windpipe as she didn't want to him talk anymore. Dropping the brute like the unworthy trash he was, Clementine grinned as the man blinked in confusion and reached for his throat, even as he gasped for breath. It was at the last few moments that the man realized what was happening and fanatically looked around for help as the light of his eyes started to fade away.

"Anyone else have anything to say?" Clementine asked to the growing street of onlookers as she looked around with a murderous look. "Disappear immediate!"

The crowd of onlookers quickly scurried away in fear. It wasn't just the murderous look and aura that Clementine unleashed that scared the onlookers. The fact that Clementine had carried out a killing without any remorse and difficulty was what scared them. The onlookers knew that she could easily kill them if they gave Clementine one single reason to.

Clementine cradled the woman's head. All he could hear was the sound of faint breathing. It was worse than she thought. The woman's condition wasn't the problem. Even while she was in a terribly beat up state, that wasn't what was dangerous about her condition. It was her mental state. She was on the very verge of giving up. Giving up her life and embracing the silence of death.

"Do not be afraid. Rest. You are under my protection now." Clementine said in kind and sympathetic tone.

Faintly. The girl's lips moved faintly. It was not the natural movement of breathing. It was a willed, conscious action. She spoke a few words. Words that clearly seemed beyond her, but somehow she was able to make it. The words spoken were so quiet that if Clementine hadn't had the training to strengthen her hearing to superhuman levels than she wouldn't have heard the words. Clementine upon hearing the words gave a big nod. The girl closed her clouded eyes, as though wrapped in a warm shroud of compassion.

"I hope, Master forgives me for not completing the task he gave me when I bring someone in need of help back." Clementine whispered as she picked up the girl and strode forth.

\- O -

"Welcome back…" Shirou became surprised when he saw Clementine enter the room. "Clementine, what is this?"

"I picked her up." Clementine replied while struggling to hide the smile that was forming. _I always thought Shirou knew what was going on, but it seems like that truly isn't the case._

Clementine saw that Shirou had an emotionless look, but she had become to know him enough that even while seemingly unreadable what might be running through his mind. He was probably wondering why he had brought someone back. After all, Shirou had also come to have a good read about her personality. Never in the time after Shirou had resurrected and enslaved Clementine that had she brought someone to their home.

"Why is this woman injured and did you bring her?" Shirou asked as narrowed his eyes looking at Clementine.

"Did you think I have no heart, Master? That I would never help a person in need?" Clementine asked.

"I know your type very well. You are psychopath whose emotions had become numbed to what you have done and witnessed. You are after all a woman that enjoys torturing and killing people amongst other things. It is hard to believe…" Shirou responded than a creepy smile that unnerved Clementine formed. "I see… This woman reminds you or yourself. That is why someone who normally wouldn't shed a tear become emotionally responsive."

"Get out of my head!" Clementine snarled as she realized that her master was reading her mind.

"I don't trust you nor have you proven loyal to the point that I will not sleep with my eyes closed. You want me to kill me in a slow and agonizing manner for enslaving you." Shirou replied in a not-so-amused tone.

"Could you start by healing her wounds?" Clementine asked as she gave up from trying to confront her master. Past experiences told her that she could never win, not until she found something to negate the slaving magic cast upon her.

"Healing…" Shirou looked at the girl that Clementine had brought in. "You could have brought her to the temple for healing."

"I thought you liked being a hero? So help her." Clementine replied in amused tone.

"You could've used a healing…" Shirou spoke until he realized that couldn't be the case.

"I would have a healing potion, several if you didn't force me to walk around like this?!" Clementine growled as she tore off her hooded cloak from her body.

Shirou could only smirk at the furious look that Clementine was sporting. Shirou was willingly to bet that Clementine thought she had been resurrected and enslaved because he got the kicks out of it. That wasn't true. In fact, it was because it had been a necessary decision. Clementine didn't deserve to live. She had tortured and killed countless people for her personal enjoyment. A murderer that deserved to be put down. The only reason why she wasn't dead was because he needed her. Both her knowledge of the New World and her abilities.

That didn't mean Shirou left Clementine unpunished for the unjustified killings that Clementine had made over her life. He was smirking because it was evident that his plan was working. He wasn't the type to use torture as method of punishment. Torture was only a method he would employ if he had to extract information from someone in a timely fashion normally to save human lives. That didn't mean he was against other methods of punishment. Humiliation tended to very effective, if not more on individuals like Clementine, who were extremely proudful.

"I have been hearing your name spread like wildfire. Clementine 'the Flasher.' I wonder how long it would take to become Nudist?" Shirou asked with a growing smirk.

Clementine went pale. She nervously swallowed as she got what her master was implying. That he would force her to expose the rest of her body if she disobeyed and angered him. If she had thought that she was immune to being coerced against her will then she had been horribly wrong. Physical methods such as torture was useless against her as she had trained to against it. Any weaknesses that could be exploited against her either eliminated by her own hand or through others. How her master had figured out public humiliation and harming her reputation against her was beyond her.

"Anyway, perform an examination. I want to know what sort of injuries that the girl has."

Clementine nodded silently by way of reply. She gingerly laid the girl down upon the clean sheets of the bed within. Carefully stripping the girl of the cloth which covered her, revealing a bruised and battered body. That ghastly sight should have made for difficult viewing, but Clementine's expression hardened.

In silence, Shirou watched as Clementine inspected the girl.

"What is your diagnosis?" Shirou asked.

"Several of her ribs and fingers are broken. The tendons on her right arm and left leg have been severed. Her upper and lower incisors have been pulled out. There are countless traces of contusions and lacerations." Clementine replied as she finished conducting the physical examination.

The degree of accuracy of Clementine's assessment was outstanding. For a moment, Shirou thought he was getting a medical report from a trained medical practitioner. It was likely she had used her own experiences of past injuries to assess the physical state of the girl that Clementine had brought.

"Here, use this," said Shirou as he threw a very small book at Clementine.

Clementine caught the book and looked into it to see that it was blank. She was about to ask why she had been given a blank book when her instincts told her that there was more to it than the eye could see. Instincts that had saved Clementine countless times and unraveled mysteries that she would have been unable to solve. Her instincts told her to inject ki into the book. She proved her instincts correct when ink filled the once blank pages with words and pictures.

"This is…" Clementine said in awe as she read the title of the book. "Where did you get this? Do you know how rare this is?"

She was held in disbelief at what she was holding. What she was holding was an incredible rare and highly sought after book by mages. Every within the wealthy and influential Slane Theocracy were the book she held in her hands rare. A book that could be thought as a strategic resource in certain cases. Normally kept in secured vaults and under heavy guard, they were magic tomes that contained just about every arcane knowledge that a mage needed and would need to know. A magic tome that was entrusted to the ownership of single individuals that had both the power and need to employ such large stores of arcane knowledge such as mages of the Black Scripture.

"You are going to use it," said Shirou.

"Use it? You want me to use the Arcane Tome. A magic tome that most mages would die to get their hands on." Clementine asked in incredulous tone.

"You will use it as this is going to become a mage under my tutelage. Your first steps as a mage will be to heal the girl." Shirou replied.

"A mage? You want me to become a mage? That takes years of diligent training." Clementine asked suspiciously.

"Think of it as using training wheels as you learn to use a bicycle. It is an aid that will help you develop the necessary traits needed to ride a bicycle." Shirou explained.

"Training wheel? Bicycle? What are those?" Clementine asked in confusion.

"They are…" Shirou sighed as he remembered that the New World likely didn't have bicycles. "Never mind. What I meant was think the Arcane Tome as a training tool. An incredibly thick training tool."

 _What are you planning?_ Clementine thought as she looked suspiciously at her master. She was wondering why her master wanted to train her as a mage. From what she knew so far it wasn't a magical item that was being used to enslave her, but magic. Any slave master knew that slave would seek revenge on their master and tried everything to prevent that. The simplest method being keeping their slave unaware how to free themselves from the slaving magic or magic item used on slaves. Yet, her master was putting himself at risk since she might be able to free herself if she was trained to become a mage.

She shrugged. Whatever reason that her master was planning to do by teaching her use magic, it wasn't like there was anything she could do. The only thing she could best do was to stay alive. Clementine would instead use this opportunity to learn what she could of magic to one day allow herself to free herself.

"What do I do? How do I heal the girl with the Arcane Tome?" Clementine asked.

Shirou smiled. Clementine would be the first of his grand project to see of his experiment would succeed or fail. A project to see if he could utilize his magecraft from Earth and YGGDRASIL avatars abilities. What neither Shirou or Clementine would know was that what they did with the healing of the girl would be the first steps to revolutionize the New World and leave their mark on history.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	15. Counter Proposal

**Chapter Fifteen "Counter Proposal"**

Clementine stepped out of the room a steaming bucket in each hand, each of which had several washcloths inside. The cloths were filthy and the hot water was black. A sign of unsanitary conditions of the girl, who Clementine had rescued, that girl had been in. She was no surprised by the fact because she could recall vividly her own past.

She placed the buckets some distance away so that the pungent odor coming from it couldn't drift into the girl's room. Clementine walked up to a door and knocked on it. There was no response, but she sensed someone moving inside, so she quietly pushed the door open.

The girl sleeping on the bed had just regained consciousness. She sat up, still drowsy. She was completely different from how she had been before. Her filthy blonde hair now glowed with a beautiful luster. Her emaciated features had regained their fullness. Her cracked lips were now a healthy pink. On the whole, she was beautiful, although her looks might be better described as a soft-spoken prettiness rather than being drop-dead sexy. Her age was now plain to see. She looked like she was in her late teens, between 15 to 19, although the shadow on her face from her years in her man-made hell made her seem older than she actually was.

"I trust you are completely recovered. How do you feel?" Clementine asked as she entered the room.

There was no answer. Her hollow eyes did not seem strong enough to look at Clementine. No, the truth was, she had not expected her to answer her. That was because she could tell that her blank expression belonged to someone who was distracted and crestfallen.

"Are you hungry? I brought something to eat." Clementine continued to ask.

She had bought the meal from a restaurant, bowl and all. The porridge in the wooden bowl was made with colored soup stock. It had some sesame oil in it to taste, and on the whole it radiated a mouthwatering aroma. The girl's face twitched in response to the fragrance.

"Come, help yourself." Clementine taunted playfully.

Seeing that the girl had not yet completely withdrawn into her own world, Clementine placed the wooden bowl and its spoon before the girl. She did not move, but Clementine did not urge her to eat. After a long time had passed, the girl's hands moved slowly; the movements of one afraid of being brutally beaten.

Clementine let out a sigh. The physical wounds had been completely healed, but the pain which had been branded into her memories still remained. She knew very well what the girl was going through. Thinking back to her experience made Clementine shiver. The physical and mental hell that she had lived through as a child until a member of the Black Scripture had discovered some talent and whisked her away from the terrible fate that she would've likely continued to live.

The girl picked up the wooden spoon, dipped it into the porridge, then brought it to her mouth and wolfed it down. Her throat worked, and the porridge slid into her belly. The girl's eyes trembled slightly. It was a small movement, but it was sufficient to convert her from an intricately-made doll into a real human being. Her other hand trembled as it moved to take the bowl from Clementine.

Clementine supported the bowl, shifting it to a place which was easier for her to reach.

The girl grabbed the bowl to herself, then took scoop after forceful scoop of the porridge as she devoured it. If the porridge had not been cooled until it was just right, her frantic feeding frenzy would probably have scalded her tongue. Broth leaked from her mouth and stained the blouse of her pajamas, but she did not care. She was more drinking than eating it. After finishing the bowl with a speed that was completely unlike her previous self, the girl held onto the bowl and exhaled deeply.

With her humanity restored, her eyelids closed slowly and ponderously. The combination of a full belly, fresh clothes and a clean body combined to soothe her spirit, and she began to feel fatigue kicking in. However, just as her eyes narrowed into a line, they snapped open and she curled up into a frightened ball.

Clementine quickly reached for the small Arcane Tome that hung from her belt. She placed one hand on the Arcane Tome and the other on the girl's shoulder. Without making saying a words, she commanded the Arcane Tome to search for a calming magic spell. Clementine began to activate and use her Magic Circuits like her master had instructed her. She felt her body being used as a channel to activate the magic spell stored within the Arcane Tome and pulsing into the girl's body.

"Your body must need sleep. Don't push yourself and have a good rest. You will not come to any harm as long as you stay here. I guarantee this: when you wake up, you will still be in that bed." Clementine gently asked, wondering if the calming spell was working.

The girl's eyes moved for the first time and looked directly at Clementine. Her blue pupils were dull and lacked vitality. However, those were not the eyes of a corpse, but a living person. Her small mouth opened and closed. Then it opened and closed again. This repeated itself several times. Clementine watched her tenderly. She did not urge her to do anything; she simply watched in silence.

"Ah…" At last, her mouth opened, and several nearly inaudible noises emerged. Then, she quickly added. "Thank… thank you."

"It's fine. You are safe here with me, and in this house," said Clementine as she fingered her adventurer medal from underneath her shirt and brought out so that the girl could easily see.

The girl's eyes widened a bit more, and her mouth began to tremble.

Her blue eyes moistened, and then overflowed. The girl opened her mouth and then wept piteously. Soon, she could hear the sound of cursing through the crying. She cursed her fate. She resented the fact that it had ever existed. She was filled with hatred that nobody had helped her until now. Her wrath was directed at Clementine as well.

 _If only you had saved me earlier._ The girl thought furiously before she remembered that she should be grateful for the fact that she had been saved.

After receiving Clementine' kindness and humanely treated, it was as though part of her had broken down under the strain of everything she had endured until now. No, perhaps it might be better to say that after having her humanity restored, she could no longer bear her painful memories. She tore at her hair, and the strands snapped quietly as she pulled. Countless golden fibers were tangled around her slender fingers. The porridge bowl and the spoon rolled to the bed.

Clementine watched silently as the girl went mad. Her hatred and curses was directed at the wrong person. She was clearly looking for a scapegoat. Perhaps said person would be unhappy, maybe even angry. However, there was no anger on her face. Her wrinkles were filled with kindness.

Clementine leaned forward and hugged her. It was like a father embracing her child. There was no malice there, only an unending kindness. Her body stiffened for a moment. Then, as she realised how different this embrace was from the men who sought only to violate her flesh, her body slowly relaxed.

"It's fine." Clementine repeated those words like a mantra, gently patting her on the back, like she was comforting a crying child.

The girl moaned and then, as she slowly came to understand what Clementine was saying, she buried her face into Clementine' chest and cried all the louder. However, the context of her tears was slightly different from just now. She finally managed to stop crying after some time had passed and the front of Clementine' clothes had been soaked by her tears. She slowly extricated herself from Clementine' arms and lowered her head to hide her blushing face.

"Ah… I'm… sorry…"

"Please, do not worry about it." Clementine smiled, and then stepped away from her. "Alright. Have a good rest. We will discuss the future and other things when you wake up."

There was nothing that magic could not do. Her body had been restored through magical healing. It was the mind that was the problem. She bore emotional scars that normally took a long time to heal, and sometimes never healed. At one point she had contemplated of erasing the girl's mind of the terrible memories she had been forced through and witnessed. That decision had been quickly shot down when Clementine remembered her own past. How that terrifying time of her childhood had been a large part of the person she currently was. There was no way Clementine could erase the girl's memories not when it was now an important part of her.

"The future…?" The girl asked in confusion as she tilted her head.

"I am getting to far ahead of myself. Please forget that I mentioned it," said Clementine. "My name is Clementine. Can you tell me your name?"

"Ah… I… Tsuare…"

"Tsuare… How are you feeling? Is there anything you would like before I leave you to get some rest?" Clementine asked.

"No… You have already done a lot for me." Tsuare replied, gratefully.

"Alright. Have a good rest today. We'll discuss the future tomorrow."

"All… right…"

After verifying that Tsuare was back on the bed, Clementine took the bowl of porridge and left the room. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find her master standing there. He was probably eavesdropping on them, not anything Clementine could do about it.

"What's the matter, master?" Clementine asked in a forced, but respectful tone.

"Clementine. May I ask how you intend to with her? If this is for using her as a tool than you will not allow you too," said Shirou in a scathing tone.

For a moment, Clementine was surprised that her master had the nerve to accuse her of such a thing. That notion was quickly understandable given what her master had come to know of her. She had been a psychopath that liked nothing more to hurt and kill people. Her master had yet to see this side of her that he was currently seeing.

"I was doing as you always seem to do. Rescue people." Clementine replied in sarcastic tone. Before Shirou could say anything, Clementine stormed out and left Shirou wondering what to do with the situation that he had happening in his home.

\- O -

Clementine opened the main door. As usual, she had gone to the Adventurer's Guild in the morning and recorded all the requests on the notice board in her notebook before the adventurers could take them.

She passed through the door and entered the house.

"Welcome… back… Clementine-sama." Tsuare greeted in the maid outfit whose long skirt covered her legs.

Clementine liked what was happening. Tsuare was showing that she was starting to recover as she seemed less depressed and acting independently without anyone's instructions. If one thing that had bothered her was that Tsuare refused to simply sit in bed and recover. She had outright demanded that she would work in this house. Her excuse being that she felt uneasy about being treated as a guest on top of being rescued by Clementine.

"I'm back, Tsuare. Did work go well?"

Tsuare nodded. "It went… well."

"Is that so. That's good to hear."

Clementine walked, and Tsuare walked with her.

"What are we having today?" Clementine asked.

"Po… potato... stew…"

"I see. I look forward to that, then. Your food is delicious, Tsuare."

She blushed and lowered her face as Clementine praised her with a smile. Her hands nervously grasped at her maid uniform's apron.

"You, you are too… kind…" Tsuare stammered.

Tsuare's cooking was hardly a gourmet spread. She made simple, everyday dishes. A far cry from what her master was able to whip out. Shirou Emiya was a master chef in terms of what he was able to cook up, but Clementine would prefer Tsuare's cooking over her master's anytime. Clementine had some peace of mind knowing that Tsuare was the one cooking because she highly doubted that Tsuare would try anything to put anything suspicious inside her cooking not with how highly she regarded Clementine.

Clementine stopped halfway, because she had heard something like two hard objects colliding. It was a very soft sound; probably nobody but Clementine would have heard it. That disordered noise repeated itself again, and she was certain that it had been deliberately made. She opened the room door and stepped into the corridor, focusing her senses. She walked to the main door, where she lifted the cover of the door's peephole.

Outside, Clementine saw a plump man. The plump man was neatly attired, and she wore well-tailored clothing. She had a weighty badge on her chest which reflected a coppery light. Her sweaty red face was also packed with fat and had an oily sheen to it, probably from too many rich meals.

What caught Clementine's attention the most wasn't the plump man himself. It was the soldiers standing close to him. The insignia and the uniform the soldiers wore matched what Clementine knew was worn by the Re-estize Kingdom's Royal Army.

At the back of the procession was a strange-looking man. His pale, sallow skin looked like it had never seen the sun before. Keen eyes and his scrawny face looked like some predator. His dark clothes hung loosely about him, and he must certainly have weapons about his person. She radiated a scent of blood and malice, which prickled on Clementine' sixth sense.

Clementine frowned. She had no idea why what looked like a government official, soldiers and shady individual were doing here or what they wanted. The thought that her activities had been watched and that she had been tracked down did come to mind for a moment. Such a notion was unlikely. She found it hard to believe that someone had been able to observe and stalk her without her knowledge. As an assassin, she was one of the very best given that she had once served the Black Scripture and was still able to escape their grasp after betraying them.

 _Maybe it was magic…_ Clementine thought as magic wasn't something that she could fool and she lacked her usual equipment she had back during her Black Scripture days that allowed her to detect and deceive magic.

"Who is it?" Tsuare asked, nervously.

She quickly made a decision. There was no way she was going to leave Tsuare to be with her when she confronted the group waiting on the other side of the door. Something told her that things could easily turn bad. If things did go bad the last thing she wanted was to be protecting someone while she fought for her life. It would only distract her and prove to be a weakness.

"It's okay. Please get Emiya-sama. He might be needed for this," said Clementine as she thought of an valid excuse to send Tsuare away and alert her master if things went bad.

"Of course, Clementine-sama," said Tsuare as she bowed and headed to get Shirou.

Only when Clementine was sure that if anything happened that Tsuare was a safe distance away did Clementine open the door.

"...May I know who is calling?" Clementine asked as she opened the door.

"I am Inspector Stefan Havish," reported the fat man at the head of the group. "I trust you know that the Kingdom's laws prohibit the trafficking of slaves… That law was proposed by Princess Renner herself and put into effect after being reviewed by Parliament. The report I received indicates that the inhabitants of this domicile have violated that law. Thus, I wish to investigate the matter." Stefan paused to let Clementine contemplate what she had heard before continuing. "May I come in, please?"

Clementine hesitated what to do. Inspectors were public officials who maintained order in the Royal Capital. One could say they were the commanders of the guards who patrolled the Capital, and they had far-reaching authority. The sort of attention that her master had said to avoid attracting. She thought of many excuses to deny entrance, but chasing the visitors away might lead to greater trouble in future.

A creepy smile crept on Clementine's voice that unnerved the visitors. Her master might had ordered to not gain the attention of the authorities, but they were already here. Her previous orders stated not to gain attention so complying with the authority would only gain more attention. She could turn this situation where she could turn into a nightmare for her master. A small, but a satisfying revenge.

"If I may, could I have an audience with the master of the house? While it cannot be helped if the master is not in, we are here to conduct an investigation. Things will go poorly if we return empty-handed."

Stefan smiled. There was no sign of humility in that smile. It concealed undertones of intimidation through the abuse of power.

"Before that, I would like to ask, who is that man behind you?" Clementine asked as she sensed the same vibe, a kindred.

"Hm? His name is Succulent. She represents the establishment which reported this incident to me."

"I'm Succulent. Pleased to meet you."

After seeing Succulent's cold smile, Clementine' felt a sense of kinship deepen. His cold smile was like that of a cruel hunter mocking his prey as it stepped into his trap. He must surely have made all the proper arrangements with all the appropriate parties before strutting up to her, bold as brass. That being the case, Stefan was most likely a proper official. They would surely be prepared for any refusals on her part. That being the case, she ought to see what they had in store for her.

"...I understand. I shall inform the my master forthwith. I hope you will be so kind as to wait here for a moment," said Clementine.

"Very well, we'll wait, we'll wait."

"However, please be swift about it. We do not have all day."

Succulent sneered at her, while Stefan shrugged.

"Understood. Then, please excuse me."

Clementine turned towards Shirou's room. He seemed not surprised like usual when she entered his room. She didn't even need to open her mouth to explain. Shirou seemed to understand what was going on. Something that no longer surprised Clementine as he seemed to know everything that went on inside and the nearby vicinity of the house. No doubt something to do with magic given that her master was a master mage.

"Wear this and escort the visitors to the lounge, but of course not the guards," said Shirou as he pointed a pile of clothes before he left the room.

Clementine wondered what her master was ordering to wear. She walked over to see when the neatly folded clothing failed to reveal their true nature. It was only when Clementine unfolded and held the cloths in the air did she realise what she was going to wear.

 _Curse you, Master!_ Clementine screamed in her mind as she blushed at what she was being ordered to wear.

When Clementine returned to the front door, she got surprised look from the visitors. Their faces said that they had not expected to see such a beautiful woman. Stefan's expression slowly turned lewd, his eyes roving around Clementine's body. There was a dark look of lust in his eyes. In contrast, Succulent's face gradually tightened up, unwilling to relax.

"Please come in," said Clementine. Stefan and Succulent entered the house, and the soldiers tried to follow Clementine spoke up. "I'm sorry, but the soldiers will have to wait outside."

The soldiers looked slightly annoyed and were about to enter when Stefan and Succulent gestured to them not to. Clementine escorted the two men into the house and into the lounge, where Shirou bade them take a seat on the sofa opposite him. The blushing Clementine walked and stood behind Shirou.

"My name is Shirou Emiya. What would be the problem?" Shirou asked.

Shirou's question brought an exaggerated cough from Stefan, and he said. "A certain establishment reported that someone had taken away one of their workers. At the same time, I heard that the person responsible had killed another worker. Someone, who is said to work for you, has kidnapped and killed."

"I hope you have ample evidence before you accuse someone, who is working for me. The crimes that speak of are very severe crimes. Kidnapping and murder. This sounds more like someone trying to slander my good name and my staff," said Shirou in disapproval.

"Emiya-san, one of the people at our… establishment has gone missing and another missing. We questioned several witnesses that said that the maid behind kidnapping one of our employees and murdered another," said Succulent.

"Stefan-san, I believe you should trend very carefully about yourself over the matter you have come here for. Succulent-san here is part of the Eight Fingers. It would tarnish your reputation as an inspector if it was found out that a government official was openly working together a criminal organization," said Shirou in a slow deliberate manner.

Stefan and Succulent was caught in unexpected surprise by when the organization that Succulent represented was so casually revealed. Any sharp individual might had figured that Succulent was a criminal given his shady nature. What neither Stefan and Succulent had expected was the exact criminal organization that Succulent worked for to be figured out so easily.

"I would also be careful of who you are dealing with. I am no simple man. Please look at these two items," said Shirou as withdraw the chain hanging from his neck and placed on the table between him and his guests.

Both men were shocked by the small medal that was placed before them. It was not just any piece of metal strung up in a chain that was placed before them. A medal to adventurers had to identify themselves. The medal signified that the wearer was the most powerful of adventurers, adamantium-class. An individual that had arrived at the pinnacle of personal human might. If the medal wasn't surprising enough, it was the next thing besides the medal on the chains that made Stefan's and Succulent's eyes widened and backs stiffen. What they saw was a ring. Not just any ring. It was the ring bearing the crest of the Re-estize Kingdom's Royal Family. A gift to symbolize a close connection.

Shirou knew that he had struck gold. His visitors were looking at the chained medal and ring in disbelief. It was time to hit harder while the iron was still hot.

"Clementine, you are the one that is being accused. What did you do?" Shirou asked while connecting to her mind. _Don't mention about the killing._

"There was no kidnapping. That 'kidnapped employee' happened to be at death's door. I did take her away. That is a fact. However, she had requested that I take her away from the dangerous workplace that she didn't want to work at." Clementine replied.

Stefan and Succulent looked at each other in a troubled manner. What they had been expecting to deal with had been best been a rich merchant or low-level noble and their personal attendants. Not an admantium-class adventurer with close ties with the royal family.

"I think we can all agree that the whole reason for you coming to my home is now pointless, gentlemen. Instead, I have a proposal to make. How about helping your country, the Re-Eztise Kingdom? Why don't you tell me what you know about the Eight Fingers and clean this kingdom of the dangerous threat?" Shirou asked with a creepy smile that unnerved Stefan and Succulent.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	16. Plans and Capture

**Chapter Sixteen "Plans and Capture"**

The Valencia Palace was roughly divided into three wings, and he had just entered one of them. This was the largest of the three, where the Royal Family resided. The Palace was very well-lit, collecting light from the outside in a brilliant display that seemed to make the interior sparkle. The polished hallways were free of litter; practically spotless, in fact. The reason why Climb's full plate armor made no sound as he walked upon it was because it had mithril and orichalcum in its construction, and it was additionally enchanted on top of that.

Along the clean and spacious hallways were the elite soldiers assigned to guard duty in the palace. They stood resplendent in their full plate armor, they were knights. It was not just knights, but also servants. Climb nodded slightly to them. Almost all of them returned the gesture. Only a few of them did so reluctantly; the vast majority were sincere in their courtesy.

Climb soon arrived at his most frequently-visited room in the palace.

After checking several times to make sure nobody was around, he reached out and turned the doorknob. Entering without knocking was an exceedingly impolite course of action. However, the owner of this room had asked him to do so. His mistress had refused to listen to his protests, no matter what he said. In the end, Climb had given in. There was no way he could win when women's tears flowed. Still, his mistress had permitted him several exceptions to that. For instance, there was no way he could barge in unannounced if the King was present.

That said, entering without knocking was very stressful on Climb. People who do that ought to be punished. It was only natural for him to feel stressed out when he thought about that as he opened the door.

Just as Climb was about to push it open, he heard the sounds of a heated discussion through the half-opened door. There were two voices, both female. One of them belonged to his mistress. Climb was still standing outside the door but she had not noticed him. That was probably because she was too excited about the discussion. That being the case, Climb did not wish to dampen her ardor. Climb stood still, listening to the discussion within the room. He felt guilty about eavesdropping, but he would feel worse if he interrupted their conversation. Soon the room fell silent, which told Climb that the discussion was over.

"Ah, you can come in. Can't he, Renner?"

"Hm?"

Climb's heart lurched as he heard those words. He was surprised that she had sensed his presence, but at the same time, he had been somewhat expecting that. He slowly opened the door.

"Pardon me," said Climb as he entered the room.

A familiar sight filled Climb's eyes. The room was luxurious but not tacky, and there were two blonde-haired maidens seated at a window-side table. Both of them were beautiful young ladies in complementary dresses. One was the owner of this room, Renner.

The other one sat opposite her. Her eyes were green and her lips were pink, and she was in radiant health. While her looks fell short of Renner, she exuded a charm of her own. If Renner sparkled like a gemstone, then she glowed with vitality. Her name was Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra. It was hard to tell given the sheer pink dress she wore, but this woman was the leader of one of the two admantium-ranked adventurer teams in the Kingdom, and Lakyus' closest friend. She had racked up a considerable tally of accomplishments at the tender age of 19, and the fact that she had attained the coveted rank of admantium must be due to her astounding talent. Climb felt the stirring of jealousy in the depths of his soul.

"Good morning, Renner-sama, Aindra-sama." Climb greeted the two blonde maidens.

"Good morning, Climb." The two women replied.

Climb quickly took a seat next to his mistress.

"As I was saying. We attacked the Eight Fingers. Three of their drug-producing villages and burned their fields to ash. I would love to say that they can recover from that, but that is far from the truth. We know very well the Eight Fingers have many more places where they grow their drugs."

The Eight Fingers. It was after all the criminal syndicate writhing about in the darkness of the Kingdom. The royal family controlled the kingdom. That was what was official ruling. In actual truth, it could be said that the Eight Fingers controlled the Re-Estize Kingdom from the shadow. Just hearing about the Eight Fingers made Climb worry for his mistress as she had taken action to suppress them. That act of trying to battle the Eight Fingers for the betterment of her people made her enemies with a very powerful organization.

"We found this scroll while burning the drug villages." Lakyus opened up a bag and took out a scroll. "It looked like some kind of written order, so we brought it back… can you understand it?"

They opened the scroll, and saw an expanse of symbols. They did not look like letters from any country's language. Renner glanced at them, and casually replied: "...It's a substitution cipher, no?"

Substitution ciphers were a form of code made by substituting a letter or several letters for another letter or symbol. For instance, "a" might become "△" and "b" might become "□". Thus, the symbols "△△□□△" would mean "aabba".

"I thought so too. I tried swapping symbols around for hours, but I couldn't make any sense of it. We took a man prisoner who looked like he was in charge because we suspected that he might have memorized the cipher key, and we were planning to use charm magic on him to make him decode the message for us. However… you should know that when the same caster uses the same spell on the same subject multiple times, you get poorer results. Therefore, I wanted to make good use of our first casting. So I decided to discuss it with you before using the spell."

"I see… and the reason this was left there was because… a trap? Or something more? If that's the case, they wouldn't use a code that was too hard to break. Hm, I don't think this will be very difficult."

Renner's words left Lakyus' eyes wide. She could not help but exchange glances with Tina, who was seated beside her. Unbelievable. But at the same time, they thought, "I knew she could do it."

"Let me think… in the Kingdom's language, the first word of any document is either a masculine, feminine or neuter pronoun… give me a moment…" As she muttered to herself, Renner rose with the scroll and went to fetch paper and pen. Then, she began writing out blocks of text on the paper. "This is a simple substitution cipher of one character for one symbol, so breaking it is easy. And fortunately, they were using the Kingdom's language. If they had used the Empire's literature or something like that as a cipher, it'd be almost unbreakable. But this… well, once you know what one of the words means, you can just fill them in one by one. Anyone could break this if they were willing to work hard."

"No no… well, you make it sound easy. But wouldn't that mean you'd need to know tens of thousands of words to break the code?"

"Well, these are encoded literary references. Those usually won't be too flowery and they can't use words that are too complex either. So they'd have to make it simple enough that even a child could understand it. That narrows things down a lot."

Inside her heart, Lakyus broke out in a cold sweat. Her friend made it sound so simple, but it was hardly as simple as she said. Renner had brushed it off every time they met or talked, but Lakyus had never met anyone else like Renner who deserved to be called a genius.

"It's done. Just a bunch of book references," Renner replied as she handed the paper to her. "There were many locations within the Kingdom written upon it, and seven of them were within the Royal Capital."

"Are these drug storehouses or other important bases?"

"I doubt they'd put such an important document in an ordinary production area… this is probably bait, don't you think?"

"Bait? As in for a trap?"

"Hm… I don't think so. Think of it this way. Eight Fingers is one organization, but they're more like eight separate groups working together, right?" Lakyus nodded. "So, this should be information about the other seven groups… or should I say divisions? In any case, this is a way to deliberately leak information on everyone besides the drugs division to outside enemies, in order to briefly take the heat off themselves."

"In other words, they already gathered information on the other divisions for this… I didn't expect them to be totally united, but this is just ridiculous…" As an adventurer, the notion of betraying one's comrades frustrated Lakyus. "While we were already going to do that, we'd better not act too hastily, or else it might turn out badly for us." After seeing her friend (Renner) nod, Lakyus asked again. "So, what should we do about that brothel? I've heard it's a really vile place where one can experience anything they desire." Lakyus felt her anger build just by mentioning it. _Bastards. Those scum who can only think with their dicks ought to be killed!_

When she recalled what she had learned about the brothel in question, she was no longer a noble heiress, but a bold adventuress, and the curses welled up from inside her heart. The meaning of the phrase "anything they desire" went without saying. It was certain that many men and women had been murdered for entertainment.

In the past, when slavery had not yet been criminalized, there were quite a few such bordellos operating in the underworld. However, thanks to the friend before her, the slave trade was now illegal, and those establishments had faded like dust on the wind. Yet the less places that provided highly illegal goods and services became more precious as demand hadn't disappeared, but only the supply had dwindled. The criminal organisations would fortify their locations with more guards and defenses. For that reason, they would not shut down easily. One could imagine what sort of determined resistance awaited them. After all, it was a tainted paradise for those people with crude, unspeakable desires.

"Say, Renner. Since we can't deal with them through the law, why not have us force our way in and expose their crimes? It'll be okay as long as we find evidence, right? If the slave-trading division really is running that brothel, then breaking them will be a huge blow. Plus, depending on where the evidence points, we'll be able to teach a painful lesson to the nobles who are in league with them."

"You might be right, Lakyus. But if you do that, won't it inconvenience your family… the Alvein family? I find it very hard to act because of that. The same thing goes for the other members of Blue Rose… but having Climb barge in there alone seems almost impossible…"

"Your servant deeply regrets his lack of strength." Climb aplogizued as he bowed to his mistress.

As she saw Climb bow in apology, Renner reached out a hand to take Climb's own, and smiled.

"Forgive me, Climb. That wasn't what I meant. It's the only underworld brothel in the Royal Capital, so nobody could take it down by themselves. See, I trust you most of all, Climb. I know how hard you work for me. However, don't do anything which might get yourself involved. This isn't a request, but an order, okay? If anything happened to you…"

Even Lakyus, as a woman watching from the side, was moved by the tears of the ravishing beauty before her eyes. Then how about Climb? He tried his best to put on an emotionless front, but he could not. Those flushed cheeks said everything for him. Were a bard to give a title to this moving scene, said bard would surely name it "The Princess and Her Knight". Yet, Lakyus felt a twinge of fear. She thought that it ought to be impossible, but if Renner were doing this on purpose, then she would be a vixen of truly unimaginable proportions…

 _What am I thinking? Why am I doubting my good friend? Besides, hasn't everything that's happened up till now proven that she's not a petty little schemer? If I can't even trust someone like her — someone with the title of "Golden", who crusades for justice — then who can I trust?_ Lakyus shook her head, and spoke. That was also to dispel the frightening notion in her head. "Ah, yes. Tina's investigations have uncovered several leaders in the slave trades. Several nobles with links to Cocco Doll. However, we haven't verified their guilt yet, so it's too early to take action right now."

Renner and Climb reacted to one particular name among the list Lakyus recited.

"That man's daughter is one of my lady-in-waiting," said Renner in a surprised tone.

"Hm? Well, I don't think she was sent there as a spy because they're on guard against you… but still, I can't be sure that she's just a lady-in-waiting looking to promote herself." Renner concluded.

"Indeed. Looks like we've policed the information quite well. Climb, you also have to keep that in mind," said Renner in a doting tone to her knight.

"Then, let's discuss what to do about the locations we've learned from the coded orders."

\- O -

Hilma, head of the Drug Trafficking Division operating in the Royal Capital of the Re-Eztise Kingdom, squirmed slowly on her king-sized double bed and reached out for the pitcher of water by the bed, but the fingers only found air. It was then that she remembered that she had not set out a jug of water, and she clicked her tongue. She could not stifle her yawn. She slept like an old person, early to bed and early to rise, but she had only gone to bed just over an hour ago. She had not yet slept her fill.

The woman swallowed and placed a hand on her throat. There was a dry, sticky sensation there, and she got off the bed to get a drink of water. She threw on a long, thick robe to cover her nude body, slid her feet into a pair of slippers, and exited the room.

She walked along the quiet hallway, looking for water to drink.

The silence was soothing for Hilma. It was something she always desired for during this time of the night. She loved peace and quiet, but the silence disturbed her. This level of silence was something that shouldn't be happening as her home also served as the base of Eight Finger's Drug Trafficiking Division inside the Royal Capital. Logically speaking, there should be soon noise such as human movement and taking, but the interior was now dead silent, like it was empty.

Instead of having a calming effect, the silence made her hair stand on end, and it even made her feel that she was the only person in this mansion.

"...What's going on?" Hilma thought in confusion. She raked her mind for any possible explanation. Hilma didn't recall ever giving the order for her servants and guards to a vacate the area. Even if such order was given, she still had a dozen servants and an equal number of guards nearby at all times. It was so that she didn't have to do any menial tasks and to ensure her safety at all times.

A chilling thought came to her. Something that counted amongst her worst fears. She wanted to shout for someone to confirm that her worst fears hadn't manifested, but it would be a very bad idea to let the enemy know where she was. She also considered just going back to her room and burrowing under her covers, but she might simply be awaiting her execution. People who don't move when they have to become food for others. This was a belief she subscribed to, and by adhering to that principle, she had risen from a high-class hooker to where she was now.

She checked both sides of the empty corridor several times and only moved ahead after verifying that there really was nobody there. Trusting in her sixth sense, she headed towards a secret room which only she and a few others knew. There were several magic items and gems there that could help her, as well as an escape tunnel.

As she tiptoed along the hallway, Hilma realised something was off.

"What… is this?" The whisper escaped her mouth unbidden.

Hilma discovered an oddity outside the window. The window, made of sheets of thin glass, were covered in several layers of vines. As a result, almost no light could get in. She tried to open the window but it would not budge. She hurriedly studied the other windows along the hallways. Each of them was choked with vines.

"What happened? Who could have…"

The windows were most definitely not like this before she had gone to bed. This could not have happened naturally in the space of an night. That being the case, it was probably the work of magic.

 _Who could have done this, and what was their aim?_ She had no idea about those points. Even so, she understood that her situation was very dire. "Dammit!" She cursed, and then she jogged ahead. She no longer cared about how her robe swayed here and there. All she wanted was to get into her secret room. She reached the staircase and looked down. It was still silent. Navigating by what little light managed to filter through the vines, she carefully descended the stairs. At the same time, she was grateful to the thick carpeting for masking her footsteps.

When she reached the first floor, she was so shocked that she suddenly sucked in a lungful of cold air. There was a person in the hallway staring at her. That person seemed to blend into the shadows as it stood there, but it was not because they had shadow-melding abilities like thieves or other related jobs. Rather it felt that way because of their dark-skin, which gave the wrong impression. That was a Dark Elf, and their mismatched eyes seemed to sparkle against the black cloth wrapping them. The Dark Elf let the black cloth wrapping them fall to the ground. Below it was girls' clothing. She held a black-colored magic staff, and she looked up to Hilma.

The secret room was behind this mysterious girl.

As she recalled the inner layout of the mansion, Hilma steeled herself and nervously approached her. If only she were a playmate brought along by some noble. However, Hilma immediately discarded her naive conjecture. Her home was completely and utterly silent like all life had been removed. Something that was impossible as even if she liked silence, there was always the noise of her handpicked and chosen servants and guards. The fact that none of her guards and servants made it clear that she should be on guard.

"Say, little girl…" After calling out, Hilma wrinkled her brows in suspicion. She had seen all sorts of people in her past profession as a high-class prostitute. Her experience told her that this was not a girl, but a boy. His clothes were exquisite and not the sort which ordinary people could afford. For all Hilma knew, even she might not have something of that quality.

The Dark Elves had once lived in the Great Forest of Tob, and they were practically nonexistent in the Kingdom. Yet here was one now, wearing expensive clothes intended for another gender. If not for the sinister atmosphere, Hilma would have concluded that this child was a slave to satisfy some noble's degenerate lust.

"...Hey boy, what're you doing here?" Hilma asked as she approached slowly and carefully, trying not to arouse his suspicion.

"A-auntie, are you the most important person in this place?"

"No—" She stopped halfway. She had a bad feeling about this. To date, she had relied on her instincts more than anything else. She had always believed that her instincts were superior than common sense. Where common sense might have betrayed her, only her intuition had never failed her. "Yes! That's right! I'm the most important person in this mansion."

"Is, is that so, that's good then." The boy smiled. His smile was so pure that even under the present circumstances, it almost managed to ignite the desire to defile his purity within Hilma's heart. "Ah, well, er, I asked those people, and they told me that too."

As if in response to the boy, a nearby door opened. A girl slowly stepped out from within. She looked like a girl wearing some kind of bizarre maid uniform, but what surrounded her was not the scent of perfume but the stink of blood and gore.

Hilma covered her mouth and swallowed a scream.

The maid's lovely little hand clutched a man's arm. It looked like she had ripped it from his shoulder socket, given the torn fibers of muscle.

"What, what's she…"

"Er, um, ah, it seems someone wanted to attack this mansion, so we decided to finish up some things before those people came. Therefore, er, I asked her to come along."

"Please pay me no heed. It has been so long since I ate my fill, and I am very satisfied."

She was able to address Hilma without moving her mouth. That was quite strange, but there were more pressing questions than that. What made Hilma shudder was the question of what exactly she had eaten to fill herself up. She could guess, but she did not want to believe. With those thoughts in her heart, she asked them.

"Then, then what, what about me? Are, are you going to eat me too?"

"Eh? Ah, er, no. You have other uses, auntie."

She could not relax. That was because her intuition told her that a more horrific fate awaited her.

"—Then, then how about this, my boy. Want to have some fun with me?"

She let the clothes draped over her body slide from her shoulder. This was her body, her pride and joy. When she had still been a courtesan, it would have cost a fortune just to spend the night with her. After that, she had kept any excess fat off her frame and maintained her sensuous figure. Hilma was confident that she could fill anyone with all-consuming lust for her, even if her target was a child.

However, there did not seem to be any unusual emotions in the boy's eyes.

Hilma could admit that her charms were inferior to that maid over there. Even so, she had been a pro, despite the fact that she was retired. Even if he did not swing that way, she could still arouse him. She elegantly worked her body in a serpentine fashion and slowly drew close, careful not to alarm him. She could not sense anything like desire from the boy, Therefore, she chose another course of action.

She slowly extended a hand and put it around the boy's neck and activated a magic item. It was the Viper Tattoo. The tattooed snakes on both her hands came to life, raised their heads, and sprang out to bite the boy's body. Anyone bitten by the serpents and their powerful neurotoxic venom would die in spastic twitches. This was the ace in the hole for Hilma, one did not otherwise have a way to fight.

However, the boy nimbly extended a hand and seized the whip-like snake as it struck, then proceeded to crush the life out of it without hesitation. The Viper Tattoo whooshed back onto Hilma's arms. Since the summoned snake had been killed, the tattoo could not be reactivated for a full day until it recovered.

Hilma was now in the worst-case scenario of having initiated hostilities and having nothing to show for it, and so she stumbled back unsteadily. However, what most frightened her was the fact that the boy's expression had not changed at all during this string of events. He was not worried at being attacked, and neither did he show any hostility.

"Th-then, so, er, let's go."

 _Go where?_ Just as Hilma began to wonder about his words, intense pain shot through her kneecap at that very same moment. The unbearable pain left her unable to stand and she collapsed to the ground. "Abbbbaahhhhh!" She wailed in anguish, breaking out in a cold sweat because of the pain, and then she looked down at her knee. She then regretted doing so."My, my, my leeeeeeeg!"

The kneecap of her left leg was twisted in the other direction, and bone protruded from her blood-red — from her flesh. Hilma wept and made to squeeze her leg, which was in unbelievable agony. However, she hesitated. She did not dare touch it.

The boy grabbed Hilma by the hair and then walked out. Hilma was dragged away by an arm-strength that she could never have guessed at from the way he looked. Dozens of hairstrands were wrenched out with a quiet snapping sound, but the boy did not seem to care.

"It hurts! It hurts so much! Don't do this!"

In response to Hilma's wailing, the boy merely glanced at her, but did not halt his pace.

"I, I have to hurry up and get there!"

\- O -

Shirou Emiya soared through the midnight sky as he jumped from roof to roof or just about anything he could use as a platform to jump off to propel himself into the air. His movement was so fast that he would seem to be a blur that made any observer blink and rub their eyes in confusion. The only real thing sign that remained behind for more than a moment after he disappeared from the sight of his observer was the whistling of the passing wind he left in his wake.

A smile of pleasure grew on Shirou's face at news of his plans bearing fruition. Cocco Doll, who was in charge of the Eight Finger's Slave Trafficking Division and his spy inside the Eight Fingers, had reported that all contact with a fellow Division Head of the Eight Finger's home had been lost. Whatever had caused the loss of contact was something that was an opportunity for him to exploit. An opportunity that he would seize with Operation Purge. Hilma, the Division Head of the Eight Finger's Drug Trade, would be just another influential player and spy that would help him seize the Eight Fingers for his own purposes.

 _Prepare yourself, Hilma Cygneaus, for tonight will be the night when the justice will be dealt._ Shirou thought as he made his way to Hilma's mansion.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	17. Blue Rose

**Chapter Seventeen "Blue Rose"**

"All right~ Then, hurry up and move it all, everyone!" Entoma Vasilisa Zeta shouted she looked up at the night sky.

Insects which were bigger than a man took wing into the night sky, carrying a large quantity of cargo. These Giant Beetles had been summoned by Entoma's entomancer abilities. The insects flew straight toward the prearranged meeting point, their wings making a deep bass sound as they flapped. Entoma watched the insects move the cargo, and she remembered that she was still holding something.

"Ah, I haven't eaten it yet. How silly of me, how silly."

She playfully knuckled her own head, and then brought the severed man's arm under her jaw. There was a "shakashaka" noise as the flesh of the man's arm was torn away. Entoma's throat moved in time with the sound. Then, with a cute "urp", the stench of blood spread through the air.

"While the fat of women's meat makes it tender and children's meat tastes good despite having less fat, eating the meat of a muscular man is best when trying to lose weight." She deftly avoided the bones, and once she was done, she chucked the rest of the arm into the mansion. "Thank you for having me."

She bowed to the building, and finally made to go to the point her superiors had ordered her to travel to. However, she had only taken a few steps when someone called out to her and stopped her in her tracks.

"Yo, this is a pretty nice night."

"...Is it? I don't think it's nice for you at all, is it?" Entoma replied as she turned around.

Entoma had trouble telling whether the human who was slowly emerging was male or female. It seemed female, but judging by its muscular frame, it also seemed male.

"What're you doing in a place like this?"

"Taking a walk." Entoma replied.

"...What were you eating so happily just now?"

"Meat." Entoma shrugged.

"...Human meat?"

"Yup. Human meat."

The manwoman's tone was icy cold, but it did not bother Entoma at all. She did not care at all how humans felt. If they got in the way, she would trample them. If they stayed out of the way, she would ignore them. If she was hungry, she would capture and eat them. It would be strange if she was actually concerned about such beings.

"I see. So, the monster makes an appearance. I didn't expect Eight Fingers to rear such monsters. But by the looks of things, they didn't train you up properly." The manwoman slowly raised its spiked warhammer.

"I say. Could we just pretend we didn't see each other?"

A strange expression appeared on the manwoman's face. It probably had not expected the person opposite it to say something like that.

"You see, I came here to work too, and dealing with you would be very annoying. The most important thing is that right now, my tummy's stuffed fit to burst."

"...Sorry, but I'm one of the top adventurers in the Kingdom. I can't let a man-eating monster go just like that. Besides, leaving something like you in the world would cause me a lot of problems."

"What a pain. Still, you say you're strong, huh? In that case, I'll use you as emergency rations, then." Entoma looked directly at the manwoman for the first time. It appeared to be a pure warrior. _Mm — it ought to be pretty strong._

Entoma was not a pure warrior, and so she could not estimate what her opponent's was capable of as her knowledge of the abilities and skills were lackluster compared to what she knew of magic. That didn't mean she couldn't gauge her strong her enemy was. She did not feel that her adversary was stronger than her.

"Yeeart!" The manwoman yelled as she ran at Entoma.

A spiked warhammer high and smashed down at Entoma. Entoma gracefully evaded that blow. However, her opponent refused to let up and suddenly changed the direction of its swing, bringing the warhammer at her in a murderous blow. That was not a graceful movement utilizing centrifugal force, but using brute muscle power to forcefully change the direction of the strike.

Entoma evaded once more, and then activated a skill.

"Ah? Is running all you can do?!"

The manwoman swung its warhammer at Entoma, and the gale in the wake of its blow whipped past her head, stirring the strands of her fake hair.

"Mm — you really like swinging wildly, don't you?"

Her mockery was met by the clicking of a tongue. Entoma used her skill once more, and at the same time she easily avoided the plunging smash of the spiked warhammer. Having missed its target, the hammer crashed into the ground with all the force which had been meant for her.

Entoma sneered at her opponent's simple, repetitive attacks. Her face did not change at all. However, her opponent could keenly sense the mockery coming from her as they fought. However, Entoma then realised in the next moment that her opponent was waiting for this — for the hubris that only the overwhelmingly powerful possessed.

"Break!" Entoma chanted.

The earth shattered where the spiked warhammer had struck it. No, the stone floor had shattered. It was like a localized earthquake. For the first time, Entoma lost her footing. In contrast, her opponent had used some kind of magic item to remain as stately as a mountain. Entoma watched as her opponent raised its warhammer once more, its head stained with dirt and debris.

 _I underestimated my opponent._ Entoma scolded herself.

Evading that move was easy enough. Indeed, if she had been human, she would have lost her balance when her footing was destroyed, and the shockwave of the ground fragmenting under her feet would have reached her legs and acted as another set of shackles to bind her in place, making escape very difficult. However, Entoma was one of the Pleiades Battle Maids, and the magic items she wore were all of superior quality. Such conditions did not bother her in the slightest.

There was only one problem. She would have to jump in order to evade, but that would dirty the maid uniform she wore. Would such a thing be permitted? This was a rare and precious treasure handed down to Entoma from the Supreme Beings.

 _That was enough — no more playing around._ Entoma thought as she shifted gears. For the first time, there was genuine hostility on Entoma's face under the mask. _I'll kill it._

Entoma turned to face the falling spiked warhammer and raised her left arm. She no longer felt like a human flicking away a bug, but the actual desire to kill. Perhaps it would be different if she were a Floor Guardian, but for someone of Entoma's level, it would be very difficult to survive unscathed if she were to block that attack with her defenseless left arm.

In the very next moment, what rang out was not the sound of steel pulping flesh, but two hard objects colliding. At this moment, a shield clung to Entoma's left arm. "Clung" was not a metaphorical term — an insect with over eight legs gripped Entoma's arm tightly and refused to let go.

"What, what's that?" The manwoman frowned in confusion.

"You see, I'm an entomancer. So, I can call out bugs like this and command them as I like." Entoma replied. She waved her right hand and out of the night flew a long insect shaped like a broadsword, which attached itself to the back of her right hand. "These is a Sword Bug and this is a Shield Bug. I've decided that I'm going to kill you. I hadn't intended to take your life at first, but now you cannot be spared."

Entoma advanced on her opponent and slashed at it. She ripped through the manwoman's breastplate and fresh blood fountained out. However, it was not a fatal blow by any means. Her opponent had not been able to avoid a serious attack from Entoma, but she had only been lightly wounded. It would seem calling itself one of the top adventurers in the Kingdom was not pride or exaggeration. However, if that was all she had, she was not worthy to be Entoma's opponent.

Gagaran swung again, and blood spurted once more, splashing her face. Thanks to the injury she had taken just now, this wound was deeper than the last, and it could no longer be considered light.

"You actually changed your movements on me! Did you get serious?!" The manwoman shouted.

The spiked warhammer fell on Entoma with a furious cry, and Entoma deflected it with her Shield Bug. She felt a tremendous impact race through her, but she stood firm, determined not to budge so much as a step. In truth, nothing would have happened if she did move, but this was an expression of her pride, and her determination to not move for a mere human being.

The manwoman rode on the flow of battle, continuing her fluid combination of attacks. Her fast and furious assault was most likely augmented by the "Martial Arts" which were unique to this world. However, Entoma skilfully used her Shield Bug and her Sword Bug to block the series of fifteen continuous attacks without so much as a scratch.

Entoma did not know that this was the trump card of Blue Rose's Gagaran, her super combo made by simultaneously activating many martial arts. Each hit of that crashing wave of attacks was made with all the strength her steely arms could produce, and they could even break through the _Fortress_ martial art. Only the defensive technique known as _Invulnerable Fortress_ — which only a few geniuses could master — could hope to fully defend against it. However, Entoma's innate muscle power had blocked every single strike.

This was the disparity in their levels, the overwhelming difference in the physical abilities of their respective species.

The beginning of despair began to appear in her opponent's eyes, but Entoma felt nothing for it. All she wanted was to kill her adversary.

"—Puhah!"

Entoma heard what sounded like a swimmer gasping for air as their head crested the water's surface. The combination attack had also stopped. Entoma cocked her right hand — the one with the Sword Bug — back like she was drawing a bow, and then stabbed forward like loosing an arrow. She was aiming for the chest of the manwoman.

Her foe raised its warhammer, but it was too slow. Entoma's strike was faster than it, and it pierced it chest… or at least, that should have been the case. The thrust missed. The insect blade struck nothing but the night air.

Entoma's head swivelled. She wanted to see who had interfered with her attack. There was a black-clad woman several meters away. Behind her was the panting manwoman.

"Sorry about that, Tia. I thought I was a goner." The manwoman panted, gratefully.

"So, your blood is red too, Gagaran," said Tia, a female ninja, in deadpan tone.

"What are you acting all surprised for? It's not like this is the first time you've seen me get hurt." Gagaran replied in not-no-amused tone.

"I thought you'd start to bleed blue by now. Like a power up." Tia quipped back.

"That's not a power-up, that's becoming another race entirely!" Gagaran protested at the absurdity she was hearing.

"A class change, then." Tia added.

"—Are you quite done yet? Have you said your farewells to each other?" Entoma shouted angrily in annoyance as she heard the two of her opponents bantering before her.

Entoma grew cautious for the first time. The manwoman — Gagaran — was nothing to fear. The problem was the newcomer — Tia. If her clothes were not just for looks, then she ought to be a ninja. That was a job class which required a minimum character level of 60 to take. If that were the case, then the teleportation technique which had allowed Gagaran to escape Entoma's attack was ninjutsu. If she were a real ninja, then even Entoma would not be able to win easily. She had thought to conserve her strength and eliminate her opponent, but things being as they were, she could no longer afford to hold back.

Before her opponents could act, Entoma had already thrown out four talismans from her right hand.

" _Shikigumo Talismans_!"

The talismans landed on the ground, and instantly transformed into huge spiders. These spiders were comparable to the monsters conjured by _Summon Monster Level 3_ , and they were hardly powerful creatures, but they ought to be enough to gauge her opponent's strength. They would also buy her time to prepare herself.

Entoma was doing this because entomancers' insect weapons were very powerful, but they had a few weaknesses. One of them was the fact that summoning the insects in question required some time.

" _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_." As Tia activated her ninjutsu, her shadow writhed and birthed another Tia.

Entoma paid no attention to it. The clones generated by the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ were only a quarter as strong as their creator. Their evasive ability varied in proportion to how much of their creator's mana had been allocated to them, but that was all. Perhaps they might be considered formidable opponents for her summoned familiars, but they were hardly a challenge for Entoma. Rather, the more important thing was how skilled the original was.

Entoma called out her trump cards; her Bullet Bugs and another kind of insect. At the same time, she pasted talismans on herself to further strengthen her abilities. A swarm of Bullet Bugs gathered out of nowhere and covered her left arm. The three centimeter-long insects gleamed with a steely radiance, and the fronts of their V-shaped bodies were sharp, bearing a strong resemblance to rifle bullets. No, that resemblance was only to be expected, because these insects were used exactly like rifle bullets.

The shadow clone was running ragged just trying to evade the attacks of one Shikigumo, while the original was dealing with two of them. The fact that she had only killed one after so long suggested that her foes were most definitely not high-levelled. That being the case, victory ought to be easy even if one factored in Gagaran's fighting power.

 _As if, I'm not going to think that way!_ Entoma thought to herself. She was not going to show them any mercy. She would quickly end the battle with overwhelming force.

The weight on her left arm pleased Entoma, and she extended the finger of her left hand at Tia.

The bugs had encrusted Entoma's arm until they had practically doubled its diameter. As one, they crawled to the front of her arm and then took wing from her extended finger, one after the other. The incessant buzzing of wings called to mind the image of a Gatling gun. The path of the Bullet Bugs meant that they pierced through her own Shikigumo, but in total, 150 of them flew downstream at Tia.

These bugs could punch holes in steel, and even a large tree would be riddled full of holes and sawed in half if it was hit by 150 of them. However, in the face of the fatal projectiles, Tia used another ninjutsu technique.

" _Fudou Kongou Tate no Jutsu_!"

A scintillating rainbow-colored shield sprang into existence in front of Tia. The bugs slammed into the gigantic wall of light that cut through the darkness, which was shaped like a six pointed star. Within a few seconds, the shield shattered with the crisp sound of breaking glass. However, the fusillade of insects had stopped as the shield broke, revealing an unhurt Tia behind it.

Entoma had no tongue, but she clicked it anyway. However, the fact that she could force her foe to use one ace in the hole after another was like lighting the path to her victory. So, far her foe could withstand Entoma's attacks, but once Entoma's offense surpassed her opponent's defense, the flood which washed over their protections would surely consume them too.

Entoma deflected the kunai flying from the front with the Sword Bug then she blocked Gagaran's plunging mid-air strike with her Shield bug. She must have jumped down from quite a high place, because the Shield Bug had to take a lot of pressure, and it squeaked like it was wailing in pain.

If the dazzling lights of the _Fudou Kongou Tate_ had affected Entoma's vision, she would not have been able to block Gagaran's leaping attack from the darkness. However, Entoma's vision was not affected by such petty trickery. In addition, her field of vision was much larger than that of a human, even when she wore "that".

Perhaps she sensed that following up on the attack would be dangerous, but Gagaran skated away — her legs remained still, but the distance between them opened up. The fact that she was moving so nimbly despite her massive frame proved that her wounds were completely healed. She took her place beside Tia and crushed the Bullet Bugs' corpses underfoot.

"This is terrible, I don't feel like we can win at all. How did she do that, her timing was too good, don't you think? She barely even saw me but she blocked me anyway." Gagaran spoke in slightly alarmed tone.

"Maybe she has a wide field of vision?" Tia suggested.

"It should be something else. I think it's more likely that it's an entomancer ability, or some kind of magical sense… that said, everything's in her favor, so why didn't she attack while we were talking?" Gagaran continued.

"A beast will size up its prey's strength, and then strike at its vitals." Tia replied.

"I see. In other words, she's studying all our moves. That's completely unlike our shorty, these careful types are really hard to deal with."

"It wouldn't be good to look down on you because you're humans, no? Ah, although there was another reason… there we are, it's here. Now then, I won't need this anymore." Entoma said. The insect clinging to Entoma's right arm fell to the ground and vanished into the night with a scrabbling noise. "And in its place… come here."

Another insect crawled onto the now-vacant arm. It resembled a centipede. No, it practically was a centipede, if one disregarded the fact that it was ten meters long and the sharp fangs at what passed for its face in front. This was the most powerful insect her entomancer abilities could summon, the Thousand Lash Bug.

Entoma began channelling her strength into her legs. She had learned the attack speed, destructive power, defensive strength, evasive ability and movement abilities of the two humans before her. The only unknown variable was Tia's adaptability, but there was no need to worry about that.

"Oops." Entoma touched her chin. Her fingers made contact with a clear, sticky fluid. "I just ate my fill, but after a bit of exercise I'm hungry again."

She had touched her saliva. It was the expression of her desire for humans as food. Although her favorite food was humans, until now she had only been able to sate her cravings using green biscuits as a substitute. Of course, she did not resent the Supreme Beings because of that. In fact, Entoma felt that the Supreme Beings were quite generous for allowing her to eat the arms which had been severed during the experiments on captured humans. Even so, she had still been repressing herself, and now that there were two excellent specimens of humanity — the highest-grade of cuisine — before her, she could not bear to dispose of them without taking a single bite.

The Gagaran and Tia shuddered, exposed as they were before Entoma's hungry gaze. They were not afraid of the killing intent she emitted, but this was a trembling born of the revulsion any living being had when a carnivore set its sights on them.

"Kiiiiiyeeeeeart!" Entoma screamed as she went on the offensive for the first time, and her attack was accompanied by a shrill cry that sounded like two pieces of foam rubbing against each other. Predators pounced their prey in a straight line, and at very high speeds. By the time she had deflected the six consecutive kunai coming at her, she had covered the distance between both parties.

Seeing Gagaran, the frontliner raise her weapon, Entoma decided on the first person she would incapacitate, and she swung the whip in her right hand. The longer the whip, the slower its tip would move. The same applied even to Entoma, who possessed superhuman muscle power. However, that was only true if the whip in question was a normal one. Entoma was now using the most powerful insect that she, as an entomancer, could summon. The whip which should have followed the motion of Entoma's arm in a lazy arc moved in a completely impossible fashion. It launched out like an extension of Entoma's arm at Gagaran, its razor-sharp horns and teeth leading the way at lightning speed.

This movement was only possible from a creature that was a fusion of weapon and lifeform. Even a veteran of a thousand bizarre encounters like Gagaran had probably never seen or experienced this sort of thing before. It was only natural that she would be surprised by witnessing something like that for the first time. The fact that she could avoid such a strange attack was why she was called an admantium-ranked adventurer — the highest-ranked of all adventurers.

Gagaran evaded the attack by the narrowest of margins, and as the insect-whip flew past her face.

"Watch out!" Tia cried out.

Following Tia's cry, Gagaran's body was blown away. This was Tia's ninjutsu — _Bakuenjin_. the suicidal explosion enveloped the two of them, the Thousand Lash Bug passed through the place where Gagaran's head had been, having turned a full 180 degrees to attack from behind. If not for that suicidal explosion, the Thousand Lash Bug would have pierced her skull. It had been well-dodged. However, Entoma's attack did not stop there. The Thousand Lash Bug suddenly turned as though it was on strings, heading at Gagaran's blackened body.

At the same time, Entoma cast a talisman at Tia. It was a Thunderbird Talisman. The talisman transformed into several birds of bluish-white electricity in mid-air, and winged towards Tia. The lightning strike exploded, and actinic blue-white light burst out to cover the surroundings, illuminating Tia — who was trying to withstand the pain — and Gagaran — who was trying to fend off the Thousand Lash Bug.

"Motherfucker! I hate these squirmy things!" Gagaran screamed as she weighed down the head of the Thousand Lash Bug with her spiked warhammer and gripped it under her left armpit, trying to keep it from moving. However, the insect used its ten meter-long body to coil loop after loop of itself around her body.

Tia stepped forward and threw a dagger, which struck Entoma's Shield Bug with a metallic sound.

" _Thunderbird Flurry Talisman_." Entoma cast out many talismans with her left hand. They transformed into birds that were slightly smaller than before and converged on Tia. However, Tia vanished, and bereft of a target, the thunderbirds flew on.

Tia emerged from the darkness behind Entoma, where she should have been outside of her field of vision. This was a short-ranged teleport through the medium of shadows. However, Entoma had long since spotted her. Much like certain insects had antennae, Entoma could sense movements in the air currents through a similar organ, which was another facet of Entoma's sensory abilities.

The few remaining Bullet Bugs shot out at Tia as she stepped out of the shadows.

"Guwaaargh!" Tia screamed.

" _Explosive Talisman_." Entoma chanted as she sent a wave of talisman after the injured Tia.

An explosion more intense than the one Tia had previously made shattered the nighttime silence. Tia was blown away, rolling along the ground, and more talismans continued flying after her. They were Keen Slice Talismans and Buffeting Gale Talismans. Tia could not find a chance to get to her feet, and she left a trail of bloodstains in her wake as she rolled further and further away, all the while being slashed and blasted.

"Tia!" Gagaran screamed at the sight of her injured comrade. "You insect bitch!"

The insect whip had already wrapped up Gagaran, who was cursing from inside the spherical mass. They had probably planned to have Gagaran weigh down the Thousand Lash Bug while Tia attacked Entoma herself.

Entoma chuckled under her mask. All she could say was that they were utterly foolish. Entoma was one of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick's Pleiades battle maids. Humans of their level could not possibly hope to defeat her. The wisest course of action would have been to ignore the fact that Entoma had eaten someone and run with all their might. They had chosen poorly, and these were the consequences of that choice.

"...The sequence of events is kind of wrong, but oh well, I guess I can't do anything about that. In any case, I'll probably be able to eat my fill since there are so many muscles, and it looks tasty too." Entoma spoke.

Entoma summoned more insects. These ones did not possess any fearsome fighting ability. They resembled syringes, which injected a paralytic venom. She grabbed the bugs and stepped lightly towards Tia. The humans would make nice souvenirs. Many creatures in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick ate human beings. They would surely be very happy to receive a present like this.

"Hm? What's that?" Entoma wondered in confusion as her exceptional senses warned of her a danger and she leapt back and was rewarded something stabbing where Entoma had been previously been standing.

The object looked like a cavalry lance made of crystal. However, that was no ordinary lance. That was because the cavalry lance which had pierced the stone floor was made of fragile crystal, yet it did not have a single crack on it.

"Is that a spell…?" Entoma wondered as a spiritual magic caster, Entoma could sense certain common qualities which all magic-using careers shared from the cavalry lance.

"Indeed. This is a 4th-tier arcane spell, _Crystal Lance_." The person who answered her descended slowly upon the butt of the cavalry lance. She was a dimunitive, masked girl in a robe with a childish voice.

 _More helpers?_ Even Entoma was starting to get annoyed. She had thought she was about to enjoy a tasty meal, but then she had been surprised by an unexpected development. Her frustration was only to be expected.

"That's enough from you for now." The masked and robed girl spoke.

"...From who? I can still let you off now, so could you please leave? Children's meat is tender and I like it very much, but the portions are just too small. I'll play with you after I've eaten the two of them."

"I see, so you're a man-eater," said Evileye. "And you're dressed up like a maid, are you kidding me? Who the hell would want a monster who reeks of blood attending them?"

"WHaT dId YoU saY, YOu LItTLe bITcH?!" Entoma had accidentally spoken in her true voice, and she hurriedly clamped her hand down on her throat. She could not tolerate what this new enemy had said and her agitation had overcome her. She wanted to tear apart the woman in front of her, not because it was the principle of the strong preying upon the weak, but because that woman had upset her. _What did this woman just say to me? Me, a Pleiades Battle Maid of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, one who serves the Supreme Beings?_ The fires of hell itself blazed brightly within Entoma's body. "I'lL kILl You!"

She could no longer control her voice. However, she desperately struggled to keep her back from swelling up.

"Evileye!" Tia called out.

"I was wondering what you were trying to do… ahhh, honestly. Lesson One; always consider the relative strength and weakness of yourself and your opponent. She's stronger than you… and weaker than me." Evileye swept her arm and set her cape aflutter, and then she shouted. "How dare you bully my comrades, you monster! Now I'll teach you what it feels like to be bullied in turn! You can thank me for it later!"

Furious anger exploded from beneath that mask, but Entoma did not care. Entoma was radiating murderous intent of her own from every pore of her body, and she broke into a sprint. In Entoma's hate-filled mind, the other two were nothing more than bothersome pebbles.

 _Did she say nobody would want me attending them?!_ Entoma screamed in her mind as those words echoed through her mind, again and again.

Entoma swung the Thousand Lash Bug. There was only about a meter or so left for her to grip; the rest had already formed into a huge sphere. Naturally, Gagaran was at the heart of it.

"I'll squash you flat with your friend! Damn woman!" Entoma screamed as she smashed the Thousand Lash Bug down on her opponent, like she was wielding a flail.

"Hmph, what a boring attack." Evileye drawled as she remained unmoved. " _Reverse Gravity_."

Entoma resisted the spell, but the Thousand Lash Bug turned weightless and floated up leisurely. As long as the wearer successfully resisted a spell, their equipment would also resist it. However, insect weapons did not use their wielders' resistance, but had to resist spells and effects on their own. Therefore, even if a spell did not affect Entoma herself, it could affect her insect weapons, as shown by the current situation. This was a demerit of insect weapons, which could prosecute independent attacks.

However powerful Entoma was, she could only give up her original plan in the face of this magic. The Thousand Lash Bug sensed what Entoma was thinking and released Gagaran. It unrolled like a tape measure and instantly became a ten meter-long insect whip.

As Gagaran collapsed to the ground, Evileye barked orders at her. "Gagaran! You're in the way! Go heal up Tia! If your gloves are used up, feed her potions!"

The injured humans were going to heal themselves. That alone was a problem. The magic caster in front of Entoma was on her level. There was an equal chance of either party winning, but add the two healed humans to the mix and it changed. If Evileye had help, the tide might quickly turn against Entoma. Entoma couldn't linger around anymore. The fact that allies had arrived to her enemies' side meant that there were possible more reinforcements on the way. Thus, while Entoma was unwilling to deploy it, she decided to reveal her true ace in the hole for it might kill the equally strong Evileye and surely kill the two injured humans before getting out of the area.

Entoma bared her throat, exposing her true face from where a human's chin would be. To an outsider, it would look like her jaw had split open. She vomited a mass of swarming flies.

"You! Is that power connected to the Demon Gods? In that case!" Evileye shouted as she prepared a special response.

White vapor spread from Evileye, as though to meet the attack. As they touched the vapors, the flies fell to the ground one by one. Entoma was caught completely offguard as she had imagined how Evileye would look when the maggots ripped her to shreds, but the spell she had used as a counterattack exceeded her predictions. Said vapors then enveloped Entoma's body. At that moment, Entoma was wracked by incredible agony.

"Abbbaahhhhh!" Entoma's face emitted a cloud of steam and deformed, as though someone had poured acid on it.

"Oi, oi, did it work?" Gagaran asked.

"What on earth was that spell?" Tia asked.

"It's an insect-killing spell, _Verminbane_ ," Evileye replied and she further added. "There was an insectile Demon God among the Demon Gods 200 years ago. So I invented this spell to wipe out the insects it summoned. Ah, well, it's something like a unique creation."

"Oi! Will this spell harm us?" Gagaran asked in a concerned tone.

"It won't. It's especially effective against vermin, but it's non-toxic towards other living creatures." Evileye assured her friend and comrade.

"...Her face melted." Tia said in a deadpan tone.

"Tia, that's because her true identity is…" Gagaran looked in surprise at a new development. "No, that's not a face!"

Entoma's pretty face slid stickily down and thudded to the ground. It looked like the skin had been peeled off her face, but that was not the case. The back of the face which had fallen onto the ground was covered in insectile legs.

"To think it was an insect shaped like a mask…" Evileye muttered.

"Orrgguooowh!" Entoma screamed in pain as the acid continue to burn at her body.

The maid's throat was exposed. There was a slit in that abnormally hard-looking throat, and a big chunk of something slime-covered fell out of it. It resembled a wad of vomitus, but the deciding difference was the fact that it was still writhing on the ground. The front of this pinkish leech-like creature creature resembled a pair of human lips, and it was gasping in the sweet voice which the maid had been using until just now.

"What the…" Evileye could not help but hold her breath in the face of this chain of bizarre events. This was the first time she had experienced something like this in her long life.

"A Lip Bug," Tia identified the slime-covered, leech-like creature that had fallen to the stony ground. "The insect devours the vocal cords of humanoids and uses them to produce the voices of its victims."

"YoU dARe… YOu DarE…" A furious and bloodthirsty voice spoke.

The members of the Blue Rose were surprised to find their enemy still alive, especially Evileye as her unique magic spell had been created to kill insects and insect-related creature in mind.

"Now that's a cute voice. I prefer it when you sound like that!" Gagaran's words were practically dripping with hostility.

"Pu, puUuNy hUmANsSs!"

"The real battle's about to begin! Don't slack off, you two! What's in store for us is an attack even fiercer than the last!" Evileye warned her comrades.

Entoma's back swelled up, and four long legs — like those of a spider — sprouted from under her clothes. It looked like she was wearing insect legs as a backpack. She used the legs she had sprouted to leap forward. It was so startling that one might think she had used a flying spell. Now that she had a height advantage from overhead, the monster spewed forth a swarm of flying, man-eating insects.

Evileye clicked her tongue and cast _Verminbane_ once more.

The flesh-eating flies were wiped out, and the insect maid fell back to earth, her compound eyes glaring at Evileye.

"ONlY yOu! yOU'rE tHe OnLy ONe I haVe tO feAR! ONCe You'Re deAd EvErYTHIng elSE WIll bE SimPLe! WhY aRE YOu sO hARD To DeAl wiTH?!" Entoma screamed in inhuman voice.

"Take this!" Gagaran smashed in from the side with her spiked warhammer.

The insect maid made to evade Gagaran's hit, but it froze briefly in place. That was because of Tia's ninjutsu, _Fudou Kanashibari no Jutsu_. Her foe was not so much resistant to it as she was immune to it, so it could not stop her from moving. Even so, the fact that it had created a brief opening for Gagaran was a tremendous help.

In response to Gagaran's strike, Entoma spat a mouthful of spider silk. There was so much of it that painted the upper half of Gagaran's body white. The sticky and resilient silk was difficult to break even for Gagaran's arm-strength. She stopped her attack and stumbled backwards. Instead, Entoma stepped forward.

" _Crystal Lance_."

A cavalryman's lance of crystal shot out at the insect maid. It hit Entoma and penetrated deep into her body, but it did not seem to hurt her at all. Worse, she seemed strong enough to summon more insects from the night, causing her left arm to swell up.

" _Verminbane_!"

The white vapors caused the insects swarming on Entoma's left arm to fall off, and the insect maid moaned in pain. The portion of her body that corresponded to a human's jaw turned to face Evileye, and it spewed a stream of silk at her, the same as what it had spat at Gagaran.

 _Defending with magic would be a waste of mana. I'm immune to binding anyway, so I should just take — no!_ Evileye hurriedly cast a spell. It was true that Entoma had spat silk at her, but the light from its strands was colder and harder than what she had hit Gagaran with. " _Crystal Barrier_!"

The crystal wall before her eyes was cut to pieces and vanished before her eyes.

"Was that razor webbing?!" Gagaran shouted in alarm as she shivered at the thought she would have been dead if silk had been razor sharp when it hit her.

"For you!" Tia shouted.

The net of woven black thread which Tia cast out expanded in mid-air. However, that net could not find purchase on the Entoma's body. The net passed through the insect maid's body like an illusion and fell to the ground.

"To think she's completely immune to movement restriction!" Tia shouted in displeasure at her failed handiwork.

"Cheh! Time out!" Gagaran's indignant retort was accompanied by a kick at the maid, who was seeking to close into melee combat.

That kick was also intended to create some space between them. The startling thing was that when the greave made contact with the maid uniform, there was a sound of metallic collision. Gagaran backed off, and the other two members of Blue Rose kept their distance from the maid, forming up while staying wary of area attacks.

"POkiNg hERe anD PoKInG theRE… wHaT a PAiN!" Entoma growled in annoyed tone.

"Did you hear that? That maid uniform's as hard as my weapon." Gagaran remarked.

"It's woven from a very hard metal. Given its thickness, I'd say her clothes are much harder than your weapon." Tia added.

"Adamantite… no, that's not it." Gagaran shook her head.

"I don't think that's all, no? She's got gear so good that it doesn't even make sense… My earth-elemental spells aren't too effective against her. In other words, her items must include something with the effect of reducing magical damage. Simply put, finding her weakness and taking her unawares isn't going to be too effective." Evileye concluded.

"Which means?" Tia asked.

"We need to attack head on and hit her with everything we have to drain her health." Evileye responded.

"Easier said than done. What should we do? If we don't hurry up, she's going to finish powering herself up with her talismans." Gagaran added.

"We'll just use our strongest moves. For me, it'll be _Verminbane_ ," said Evileye as she prepared most powerful magical attack.

"...Sounds simple enough," said Gagaran as she hefted her warhammer. "Alright, let's finish this."

The three of them looked at each other, and they attacked at once. Evileye used _Acid Splash_ as while Tia supported them from behind with items. Gagaran activated her martial arts in between a series of repeated combination attacks. The members of Blue Rose worked together to take down the monster before them.

\- O -

Shirou Emiya landed on the ground to survey the scene. What had been pristine forestland and private residence of wealthy individual now bore scars of a battle. A battle between the supernatural beings or magic users. No mortal army made up of normal humans had the ability to tear up entire scathes of forest, make holes and craters in a world where bombs were non-existent. A scene that made Shirou think back to the Holy Grail Wars he had participated as Servants fought each other.

He stood up and walked over to inspect the corpses that he could see. Some of the corpses were relatively intact with only mortal injures. Others were torn to pieces. Some of the bodies could be identifiable, but others couldn't. Whoever the corpses had belonged to, they had put up a fierce fight given that battlefield that they had created before their deaths.

The battlefield could tell him all sorts of information if he was to inspect it like a detective would, but that would take time and he could make wrong hypothesis to what had happened. Shirou instead preferred to use a very accurate method that had failed him very few times, and without the time it took to investigate the battlefield like a crime scene. He looked at the various equipment that the corpses wore and read their histories.

"The Blue Rose?" Shirou Emiya said in surprise as the information that he got from looking at the history of the corpses' equipment's. "This is not good. If the Re-Eztise Kingdom was to learn some of their most powerful adventurers had been killed than fear and panic would spread like wildfire and potentially cause a national crisis as people become afraid of what had killed the Blue Roses. I will have to do something about this."

Shirou opened his character and skill windows. He inspected to check that his stats were sufficient for the task at hand and went to check the skill that he was thinking of using. After reading his stats and the skill description several times and contemplated if he could make his plan work.

"This better work," Shirou said as he selected the corpses of the Blue Rose then pressed the button to the skill, Servant Summoning.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	18. High Human

**Chapter Eighteen "High Human"**

"Aaarrgghh! I don't want to die!" Evileye screamed as she stood up, sweating profusely. "Wait…?" She looked around in confusion. She frowned in bewilderment where she found herself. "Is this supposed to be the afterlife?"

The last thing that she thought of about the afterlife was a small bedroom with no one to greet her. No one to either take her to heaven or hell for the righteous deeds or atrocities that she had committed. It seemed so surreal that she was thinking that she might not be in the afterlife and instead everything had been a bad nightmare. Only one thing made ruled out the possibility that everything had not been a nightmare. Evileye found herself in a bed and room that was no way remotely similarly to where she remembered sleeping last.

Evileye checked her body to find no signs that she had been mortally wounded, no scars or bandages. Nothing to show that she had been injured in the first place, much less prove that she had died as she had vividly remembered as she felt her last breath before her eyes closed and the darkness took her.

"…" She remained silent as she felt something on her chest. "No…!" Evileye shouted as she rushed towards the bathroom and found herself in front of a mirror. "…It cannot be real?!" Evileye screamed in excitement as she focused looking at the reflection's chest. "Wait… is that me…?" Evileye wondered in confusion as the reflection she saw was not herself. "…But, the woman in the mirror does similarly to me…. Just what I would be expect myself to be as a fully-grown woman had I not gained my immortality as a vampire as a child…"

She made some basic movements that the woman in the mirror copied. Evileye moved towards more and more complex movements that most human wouldn't be able to make because it took flexibility and specialized training to be able to do. It was when she began to use magic before the mirror that she was utterly convinced that the woman before her truly herself.

"I don't know if this is a dream, after a nightmare, but I wish this was real!" Evileye shouted in glee as she felt a part of a woman's body that she had developed as she had been frozen in the body of a girl because of her vampire immortality. "…Wait, did I just… feel two heartbeats?!" Evileye pressed her hands even closer to her chest. She squished her breasts inwards and felt two strong pulsing and steady heartbeats. Each one directly underneath where her newfound breasts were. This was instead of the usual slight left of the breastbone where the human heart normally lay. "This is completely worth it. Who cares if I have two hearts or I feel and think that I am human. These breasts and becoming a fully-grown woman is worth the trade!"

Evileye began to crackle evilly as she thought of how to show off her newfound status. For the first time in her long life, she had no reason to be jealous of two things. Every women, especially the ones with large breasts and those that teased her for being short. She swore that she was going to put her new found appearance to good use.

"Oi!" A voice that seemed awfully familiar to Evileye spoke as the door behind her opened up. "You're making so much noise that you woke me up!"

Evileye turned around to see who was talking to her. "…Gagaran…?" She asked in confusion as the woman before her was completely different from the muscle-bound Gagaran. She was the opposite of what she thought of Gagaran: lean, and not overly muscularly. The only reason that she had some belief that the woman before her was Gagaran was because of her familiar voice and physical appearance to Gargaran. "Gagaran, is that you? You look so different."

"…Is that you, Evileye…?" The woman asked in a similarly confused state as Evileye, eyeing Evileye in a similar fashion.

"I am Evileye…" Evileye nodded. "I don't know why I look like this, but I like it…"

"Well… I cannot hear you, Shorty, anymore…" The woman replied in mixed expression of annoyance and amusement.

"Yep… You're Gagaran." Evileye nodded as only Gagaran had the nerve to call her by that nickname despite knowing her furious temperament relating her height and her fearsome magical ability. "If this is all not a dream… Did you also have a nightmare about fighting six non-humans that tried to pass as human maids?"

"Did you think the boss revived us…?" Gagaran asked in uneasy tone as she remembered her own death.

"…No…" Evileye hesitatingly shook her head. "…I was the last to die… So, I was wondering if this is not a dream actually…"

"It isn't a dream," said a familiar voice to Evileye and Gagaran. They turned around to see it was their leader, Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra. "It is good to see that you're both alive and awake."

"What is going on?" Gagaran asked.

"Lakyus, you seem to know what is going on," said Evileye as she used her experiences of nearly three centuries of life. "Tell us what is going on. You were amongst the last of us to die, but still died before me. We were slaughtered by six non-human maids…"

"We were rescued." Lakyus replied.

"By what party? We are the Blue Roses, one of the most powerful groups in the Kingdom!" Evileye asked in disbelief at Lakyus' statement.

"Also at what costs, because we might be powerful, but we are only six individuals," said Gagaran. "It would normally take several hundreds of normal human soldiers to have any chance of repelling those six monsters that we fought."

"… One individual…" Lakyus replied in a quiet voice that was so nearly missed by Gagaran's and Evileyes' ears. When the two subordinates looked at their leader with curious looks, Laykus coughed and spoke in a louder voice. "A single man managed to drive the six monster maids away…"

"WHAT?!" Evileye and Gagaran screamed in disbelief as they stared at their leader. They found it absolutely difficult to believe that a single individual could fight and survive, much less drive back the six monster maids. If they, the Blue Roses, a team of adamantium-class adventurers, couldn't take down a single monster maid than it would take hundreds of normal human soldiers and maybe even more to accomplish what the Blue Roses had failed and died trying.

"I'm not joking…" Lakyus replied. "Our savior also took our…" Lakyus fell silent as it was still a scary notion that she had a hard time still believing. "…Corpses… away…"

"…So… we really all did die…" Gagaran replied in a disheartened tone. Lakyus nodded her head.

"Who resurrected us…?" Evileye asked. "I don't feel weaker. Something that is very unusual as the iconic trait of being resurrected means that you are left greatly weakened. I actually feel stronger, and resurrections don't change the appearance of people after bringing them back to life."

"…Evileye… when were you going to tell us you were a vampire…?" Lakyus asked with a betrayed look.

"…" Evileye was left breathless as her secret that she had tried to protect the most in fear of betrayal that her friends would feel happened before her very eyes.

"Oi, Lakyus, who cares if Evileye is a vampire," said Gagaran as she didn't feel one bit disturbed by the news of her friend's race. "We have worked with plenty of non-humans in the past. What is the problem of Evileye being a vampire, I mean one in the past. Everyone has their secrets and I bet you also have some that you haven't shared with us."

"That is true…" Lakyus nodded before any sense of betrayal that she had felt from Evileye disappeared. "…By the way, the one that resurrected us says that we were no longer mere humans. He claims that we are now…" She remained silent for a moment. "High Humans."

"WHAT?!" Evileye and Gagaran shouted together in disbelief.

"High Human… Isn't that a legend?!" Gagaran added in disbelief.

"They are not…" Evileye answered her friends question as she regained her composure. "High Humans were supposed to be extinct and their surviving descendants' blood had thinned so much over the generations that they are no longer possessing the unnatural long lifespan and superhuman abilities of their ancestors."

"Given that you're a vampire, you probably met a few high humans in the past, right?" Laykus asked and Evileye nodded her head.

"Oi… Oi… You're not pulling my leg, right?" Gagaran asked in disbelief.

"I am not," Lakyus shook her head. "How do you also explain your change of appearance, despite still wielding the physical strength of several men?"

"No, I actually feel stronger. Which doesn't make sense because I don't have the muscles…" Gagaran commented as she looked at her lean body, which seemed like a twig compared to her former huge muscle builder physique prior to her resurrection.

"I think we have strayed from the topic…" Evileye coughed. "Who was the one that saved us? I find it hard to believe one single individual could drive off those six monster maids that killed us…"

"That would be me," said a masculine voice as they walked towards the Blue Roses. "It is good to see you again, Evileye and Gagaran."

"Shirou Emiya…" Evileye and Gagaran identified the man before them.

"Despite, how unbelievable it sounds, this man drove off the six monster maids and managed to take our corpses to a safe location before resurrecting us," said Laykus. "There is no one to confirm his story. We only have his words… But I was able to confirm that he was telling the truth. I went back to the battlefield that we had fought. There was proof that we had truly fought the six monster maids as I found pieces of their clothes and bodies where we had fought and…" Lakyus shivered. "…Died."

"Should I give your group so more time to come to terms with what has happened?" Shirou asked cautiously, carefully observing the women's reactions.

"…No, time is of the essence." Lakyus replied. "We need to deal with the six monster maids."

"We can do nothing about them anymore," said Shirou. "They are long gone. I have been trying to track them, but have not found any tracks to follow. It like they suddenly flew away or teleported."

"I don't think we should give up so soon," said Lakyus. "Who helped out with investigating the scene and tracking the six monster maids?"

"No one except for myself," Shirou admitted. The members of the Blue Rose were about to berate Shirou when he spoke up before they could. "I thought it was unwise to let anyone know that some of the strongest adventurers of the Kingdom had been killed. The citizens of the Kingdom would be devastated to learn of such news, especially happening in the Captital, which is supposed to be the safest place in the entire Kingdom."

The members of the Blue Rose grudgingly nodded their heads in acceptance of Shirou's reasoning. They, the Blue Rose, was seen as a pillar of strength of the Kingdom. A centerpiece to deal with emergencies that larger number of human soldiers were unsuitable or unable to resolve. Each one of them could take on hundreds of human soldiers. Fear and pandemonium would spread across the Kingdom if news of their defeat or death had spread.

"You were correct with your decision," said Lakyus with a nod of approval. "We should investigate the battlefield where we had fought the non-human maids for any information that we could use to track them down and eliminate them."

"Is that a wise choice?" Evileye asked. Her colleagues turned to her in confusion. "What I meant was do we know if these six non-human maids are threat? From what I had seen from their actions before we fought them, they had raided a suspected home of one of the Eight Finger's leadership. Before we fought, the non-human, insect summoning maid had told us that they didn't want to fight and asked if we could look the other way."

"How could you make such a suggestion? That maid had been eating human flesh." Gagaran replied in an anger tone.

"Gagaran, how could you be so naïve?" Lakyus said in disapproval. "We are not dealing with a simple monster that is out to kill humans. If that had been the case than the maid would have outright killed us without first resorting to diplomacy. We are dealing with a very small, but powerful group out against the Eight Fingers. They could be powerful allies…"

"Yea, right…" Gagaran grumbled, not sharing the same sentiments as her leader.

"We are not likely dealing with a vigilantes group," said Shirou. "It goes against the normal motto of vigilantes to avoid harming innocents as much as possible. These six non-human maids and any that helped that had killed everyone in the home of a suspected Eight Fingers leader. We are either dealing with an extremist and radical vigilantes or rival criminal organization vying for power."

"I think we are greatly limiting our potential list of suspects without evidence to narrow possible parties responsible to such a small group," said Evileye. "We must not discount the chance that foreign powers might be trying to interfere with the internal affairs of the Re-Estize Kingdom."

"Yes, we mustn't forget about foreign powers as potential suspects," Lakyus agreed. "If a foreign power like the Baharuth Empire or the Slane Theorcracy, the Kingdoms two closest and powerful neighbours, was involved then taking over or controlling the Eight Fingers would be highly beneficial to them. A large spy network and influential connections already built up for them and ready to be used. The perfect tool for a foreign power."

Shirou on the side resisted the urge to laugh. He himself was trying the very same thing. He was using his own people to try and infiltrate the Eight Fingers so that he could take control over it. Both for the greater good and his own personal greed. The Eight Fingers were after all incredibly powerful and well-connected to allow him to further his own agenda, and he couldn't allow it to continue dealing in slavery and murders.

"I believe we can strongly rule out the Slane Theocracy," said Shirou as he recalled the inner working that his followers, who were former high-ranked Slane Theocracy members. "They were never resort to dealing with non-humans, unless absolutely necessary. I know this because I have some connections with the Slane Theocracy and know some formerly, high-ranked members. The six non-human maids that we fought, and any who helped them, are antithesis to the Slane Theocracy's extreme anti-human stance and policies."

"Is that so…?" Lakyus chewed her lips. "I will take your word for it as you seem so confident of your assessment regarding the Slane Theocracy. That leaves us the Baharuth Empire. The only powerful and neighbouring power that has both the resources and will to commit such dangerous act as trying to take over a key pillar of the Re-Estize Kingdom as failure or discovery may possible warrant war."

"The Empire might look at demi-humans more favorable than the Slane Theocracy, but not that much better," said Gagaran. "I doubt that either two regional powers are responsible for what is happening."

"No, that might actually be the reason," said Evileye. Everyone looked at her with curiosity.

"Explain," Lakyus spoke.

"It is well known that both the Empire and Theocracy detest demi-humans, but this opens up an opportunity for them. If they were to employ demi-humans, no one would be suspicious of them as they are famously known for their anti-demihuman stance. They would assume another party was responsible and not think about them as a responsible party." Evileye explained.

"Evileye has a good point," said Shirou as he was very experienced with the cloak-and-dagger business himself as he had participated in many such activities in the past. "We cannot dismiss the possibility that Empire and Theocracy is involved. We must keep our eyes open for any possible party until we find proof that are not involved. Even then, we must assume the possibility that a party might seem to be responsible when we could be deceived by a false-flag operation."

"Grgh! My head hurts with all this talk of cloak and dagger business!" Gagaran screamed in frustration. "Can we talk about something else! We are getting nowhere right now. Just pointless speculation…!"

Shirou, along with everyone else in the room chuckled at Gagaran's attics. It was light heartening when they were going nowhere and spirally deeper into a subject that was fraught with peril and incredible bloody.

"Shirou, there has been something that I have wanted to ask all this time," said Lakyus with a smile before turning to Shirou with a serious expression. "What did you to us? I am one of the incredible few humans that have the ability to use Resurrection, and even than Resurrection doesn't come at a cost. The resurrected individual will be left greatly weakened. Yet, none of that has happened. Instead, my friends and I are stronger. You have turned us into High Humans according to your words. We deserve an explanation."

While maintaining a polite look Shirou thought about what to say. How he responded could determine any future interaction that he had with the Blue Rose. He couldn't obviously explain everything. That would result in a lengthy explanation that would result him likely being labeled as a madman (who would believe his claim that he came from another world or the fact the New World seems to be heavily influenced by a video game). He could also not leave the Blue Rose in the complete dark as it would likely make them his enemies or highly suspicious of him at the very least. Both options had the pro and cons, but he choose to take the middle ground.

"I have many secrets. Secrets that I don't wish others to know or don't trust others with." Shirou started off. "But, you and your friends deserve some explanation. Afterall, I prevented you from enjoy your time in the afterlife…" He sighed and took a breath. "As you already know, I am very powerful. That is just the tip of the iceberg. I have access to abilities and knowledge that will make your heads turn. Just know this, I did nothing harmful to you. Only made you stronger. Strong enough that you are in the realms considered by many of myth and legend."

"Are you a Player?" Evileye asked as she thought back to her past with the legendary Thirteen Heroes, two centuries ago.

"What?" Shirou blurted out in shock by the completely unexpected term that he didn't know the inhabitants of the New World should even know.

"Player? What is that supposed to mean?" Lakyus and Gagaran asked in confusion.

"A word that two members of the Thirteen Heroes, which I once part of under the guise as Landfall, used to describe themselves," said Evileye. "They used the word 'Player' to explain how powerful they and made all sorts of statements that seemed unbelievable. Something about another world and video games…"

Shirou quickly recomposed himself, but internally he was still shocked by the new development. He had found lingering influence and legacies of what he had inspected as YGGDRASIL players as seen by the Six Great Gods of the Slane Theocracy and Eight Greedy Kings. The Black Scripture with their powerful items being one the strongest evidence besides the vampire NPC known as Shalltear that he had captured.

"I know of that word, but I am not a Player," said Shirou in a smooth fashion that made him seemingly telling the truth. "I am shocked that you know that word as it is a term that few know. A race of individuals that have known to have played influential roles in history…"

Laykus and Gagaran looked at Shirou in disbelief at the new information that they had learned. Information that they had never known about and seemed to a conspiracy theory regarding the history of the New World. Evileye wanted to believe Shirou's words and was nearly convinced had it not been for her instincts telling her to not to be deceived.

"I don't bel…" Evileye was saying until she was interrupted.

"Evileye enough," said Lakyus as she looked at Evileye with disproval. "Shirou has the right to his own secrets just as we all have our own. Just leave him be. Do you understand, Evileye?" Evileye nodded, but did not hide her annoyed expression. Turning to Shirou, Lakyus spoke up. "Can you tell us more about being the High Human? There are many myths and legends regarding the famed and extinct kin of humanity. You seem to be the type, given that you seem to be a High Human yourself given your sense of familiarity and power beyond most humans."

"High Humans are an offshoot of what is considered as 'humans.' We are superior to humans, in just about every aspect. Physically, mentally and magically. How much superior depends on the individual and age of a high human." Shirou recanted what he rumored the YGGDRASIL in-game lore regarding High Humans, the species that his YGGDRASIL avatar belonged to.

"That is something I already know," said Lakyus in annoyed tone. "I am asking about specifics. For example, why I have two pounding hearts in my chest? Are there are more physical differences between high humans and normal humans?"

"I don't know all the specifics… Let me look it up, since you seem to want to know everything." He willed for a window to open before him and began to tap away at the menu until he came to what he desired. "This…" A thick tome appeared in his hand. "…will answer all your questions."

"Thank…" Lakyus was saying in a grateful tone as she reached for the offered tome when Evileye snatched the tome out of her grasp. "…HEY!"

"High Human… biology… biology… where is it…" Evileye muttered as she flipped through the pages before she found what she wanted. "Aha! Here we go…"

"Hey! Don't think about reading the book that was for me!" Lakyus protested as she tried to snatch the book back so she could read it alone.

"Oi! Lakyus, there is no point of being greedy. Everyone needs to know." Gagaran shouted as she snatched the book from the fighting Laykus and Evileye. "Tia! Tina! I know you have been watching from the shadow all this time ready to assassinate Shirou Emiya if given the order. The two of you might as well come here and also read. Saves us time from having the explain to each other about the information in this book regarding High Humans."

Shirou was not one bit surprised when the two twin assassins seemingly appeared out of nowhere and gathered around the tome that was placed on the ground by Gagaran so the rest of her team could all read the tome's knowledge relating to YGGDRASIL's ingame lore of High Humans. He had been aware of their presence the entire time. It had not taken much effort to find out that someone had been trying to hide from his awareness. They were heads and shoulders above normal humans and the average assassin. Yet, nothing compared to the Presence Concealment of the Assassin-class Servants that Shirou had encountered various times during the fake Holy Grail Wars and the Chaldea Crisis.

As the Blue Rose got busy with their reading that was Shirou thought to himself about the information that the adventurers were going through.

It had been several months since his arrival into the New World. Yet, he was still very unused to his new body that seemed a fusion of his real body and his YGGDRASIL avatar. He greatly appreciated that his abilities had been greatly enhanced and he also had access to abilities that he hadn't possessed back on Earth. While he was very grateful for the beneficial changes to his body that didn't mean he was without fear. Shirou was still frightened the changes to his body, despite not having fold any negative effects. The fear that he might find the negative consequences with the fusion of his body and ingame avatar in the future.

 _I must continue my own research into my body…_ Shirou thought as shook off his fearful thoughts and focused on other tasks.

His hands reached for his neck to pulse his pulse. The heart rate he had was off the charts compared to normal humans. His pulse normally ranged anyway between two to three hundred. Shirou had even pushed his own body to the limit under a very rigorous training regime designed to bring his body close to Servant-levels, and his maximum heart rate he had found was close to approximately eight hundred beats per minute. As a result, he felt many beneficial efforts. The first and most obvious was that time seemed to be slower as his brain with a massively increased bloodflow of oxygen to brain. He was able to think faster than before his arrival to the New World, and because of that felt that his mind's clarity was incredible sharper.

 _If it was just having two hearts was just the end of it…_ Shirou mused.

The alteration to the human body didn't just end there with the heart. Just about every part of the human body was subtle altered to abilities that humans normally didn't possess like entire limbs and organs. Some changes were so drastic and not human that Shirou at times worried that he was still not human. Shirou was just grateful that he was still human. Human in a way that counted the most important way. His humanity was still intact for all he cared as he still thought on the same wavelength as every other human that he had some far encountered in the New World. It also helped that his appearance hadn't changed one bit, but if someone was to peer underneath the skin than they might not consider him human.

 _A High Human was supposed to be superior to a human in every respect. Physically, mentally and magically. They were the 'blessed' humans that were supposed be the leaders and guardians of humanity._ Shirou scoffed at the YGGDRASIL's game developers justification for the power that YGGRASIL players playing as a human avatar had over the ingame humanity NPCs.

Shirou made an imaginable slash at his throat. Such an action would likely kill a human, but with his new and enhanced physiology it would be hard to simple kill him by cutting at his throat. His major blood vessels had been relocated into his bone making it only possible to cause major bleeding by cutting into the bones of his neck. Even then that didn't guarantee a kill as his regeneration would close of any bleeding within a matter of seconds. There was only three ways to kill him with a weapon. Decapitation, the destruction of his brain or hearts.

 _Good luck with that…_ Shirou internally laughed he recalled how much tougher his skin and bones had become.

"Hey! I got a question…" Lakyus called out as she snapped Shirou out of his musing.

"Yes?" Shirou asked as he turned his attention to the leader of the Blue Rose.

"Please tell me that…" Lakyus turned red before she took a deep breath. "Tell me that my ability to bear children have not been affected…"

"WHAT?!" Evileye and Gagaran shouted in disbelief at their leader's question.

Shirou's eyes widened and his mouth was left gaping at the outrageous, reasonable if thought logically, question.

"I… don't know…" Shirou responded as he turned his head.

"WHAT?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Evileye asked as she too thought about her ability to have children.

"Why are you two thinking about children already?!" Gagaran shouted as she stared at her two teammates.

"Kami…" Shirou muttered as fought off what he could feel was going to be a massive headache.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	19. Throne of Heroes

**Chapter Nineteen "Throne of Heroes"**

"Welcome back, Shirou-sama." Linda greeted as she bowed. Behind her several knights that once made up the Sunlight Scripture and now Shirou's followers bowed too.

"Hello to you, Linda, and everyone else," said Shirou as familiarized himself with his new surrounding after using teleportation. "How is everything going?"

"Everything is proceeding as planned," Linda replied as she followed Shirou walking through the hallway.

"I delegated you many tasks," said Shirou as he continued to walk. "What were they?"

"These were the tasks that you gave us…" Linda spoke as she began to list the tasks that Shirou had assigned to her to complete. Shirou was furthermore impressed when the report he got was very detailed.

"I am impressed that you were able to execute all the tasks that assigned you and from your report it seems all of them went without too much problem." Shirou said happily at the news.

"The innovations that you have made has immensely helped in the tasks that you have given us." Linda replied.

"What is the status of Carne Village?" Shirou asked as he finally made it out of the large building that housed the teleportation circle.

Before Linda could respond to his question, Shirou got the first look of Carne Village for the first time in more than year since he had last seen it. What he saw surprised him. Nigan and Linda always given him daily reports of what happened in Carne Village, but those reports didn't do justice to what he was seeing. Carne Village that had been a ravaged village of fifty-some survivors had grown significant since. The population had exploded and the size that the word "village" couldn't be used anymore. Shirou saw a vibrant and thriving town that easily housed a thousand inhabitants.

"Wow…." Shirou muttered as he took in the sights. "Your reports don't do justice to large and populated that Carne… Town had become."

"The town and population would have grown significantly more if not for the stringent requirements of who and what comes in and goes out, Shirou-sama." Linda replied. "Although, I have finally come to understand why you made such strict regulation regarding trade and immigration. If they hadn't been implemented who knows how much Carne Village's prosperity would have been robbed or destroyed by spies and saboteurs."

Shirou shivered at the sheer devastation that what Nigan and many of the New World considered as "revolutionary innovations" that he had taught the inhabitants of Carne Village. His "innovations" were something that would disturb entire industries and something that the dominant market holders would never want to be allowed to spread as it would threaten their monopoly or businesses. Something that could easily result in Carne Village being targeted for elimination.

"How are the trails going so far?" Shirou asked as his eyes glanced over various parts of Carne Village that had his "innovations" implemented.

"Many wonder why you are still limiting your innovations to small-scale trails. They wished that they you implemented on a large-scale." Nigan reported.

"I am merely a scholar, who had suggested ideas using the knowledge that I have learned from books and education. I don't have the skills or experience to foresee if there are errors with my innovations. The innovations could be disastrous and prove flawed. Something that we will want to know before we implement on a wide-scale." Shirou spoke as he recited the excuse that he had made up regarding his "innovations". _After all…_ Shirou thought. _I have confirmed that the New World and Earth is very similar in many ways but there might be areas that are different. There is no telling how much of my ideas will bear fruit or if they detrimental. Hence, the trials…_

Shirou looked at various points of Carne Village. They were tall towers. Linda seemed to catch what Shirou was looking at.

"The magic barriers that Shirou-sama call "Bounded Fields" have worked flawless. It has maintained an impenetrable, wide-scale illusion that makes it think that Carne Village is still the small, rural and agricultural village. Not the growing town that it has become." Linda reported.

"There hasn't been a single issue?" Shirou asked.

"The only issue had been the initial creation and maintenance of the unfamiliar magic barriers." Linda replied.

"Good," Shirou nodded and he turned to see loud footsteps echoing in the distance.

"Welcome back, Shirou-sama…" Nigan called out as he followed with an entourage of mages. "I would have come immediately if someone…" He shot a glare at Linda. Linda just shrugged carefreely at the murderous glare that was directed at her. "…Had told me of your arrival."

"How goes the investigations of the vampire and six monsters that I entrusted to you? Do you find anything noteworthy? What of their equipment?" Shirou asked.

"Yes, we did, Shirou-sama," Nigan nodded then shivered. "The vampire is powerful beyond my comprehension. How were you able to defeat it…?"

"Did you doubt my powers? Not believe that I am Godkin?" Shirou asked in an accusing tone.

"No… no… no! Of course, not Shirou-sama," Nigan quickly stammered as he realized that he might have irked his master. "I would never. Isn't that right everyone?!"

Nigan quickly looked around for support. No one really reacted or at least that wasn't until Shirou looked at everyone around him in a scrutinizing tone.

"Of course not! We never doubted you, Shirou-sama, of your status as a Godkin!" Everyone shouted as they feared for their lives at that moment as they recalled stories of those that had irked Godkins.

"That is good to hear," Shirou nodded in approval as he made sure his ruse as a Godkin continued and not one began to investigate his true origins. "Continue with your report…"

"As I was saying…" Nigan swallowed nervously before regaining his composure. "The vampire that you slay was no doubt an Evil Deity. Something that is thought to be all dead or sealed away… The items that the vampire wielded were beyond anything that a mortal could use. The only items that could be comparable would be weapons of myth and legend…"

"How would you rate it compared to the legacy left behind by the Six Great Gods?" Shirou asked as he remembered what Clementine had told him about the equipment left only for the sole usage by the Black Scripture.

"The ones that the masses believe as legacies of the Six Great Gods or their true legacies?" Nigan asked in confusion.

"Their true legacies," Shirou confirmed.

"I hate to admit this, Shirou-sama, but I would say that they are comparable…" Nigan admitted grudgingly.

"It seems that I will have to use _it_ …" Shirou sighed. "What about the six monsters that I recently handed to you?"

"They were not anyway close as powerful as the vampire, but still a threat that only members of the Black Scriptures such as yourself, Shirou-sama can handle. I would rate them amongst the ranks of mythical monsters but nowhere near Evil Deities. Their equipment is similarly powerful yet nothing comparable to the vampire's equipment." Nigan reported.

Shirou nodded his head in approval. The information that he had received was not as much as he had hoped. He knew just about everything he needed about the vampire and monsters or their equipment with both his YGGDRASIL avatar's and his own abilities. What he had done was to test what his followers would be able to gather on information regarding items. Although, the test had done proved to be a total succession it give him some idea of what his followers were capable of when inspecting items and corpses.

"Remember to be constantly vigilant near the monster corpses or their equipment. There is no telling if the monsters can revive themselves or their allies seeking to retrieve their comrades' bodies and equipment." Shirou said warningly. "Otherwise, continue with the good work."

"We will take heed of your words," Nigan nodded his head. "May I ask what you meant earlier by ' _it_ '? Are you planning to use something special?"

"Something like that," Shirou replied ambiguously. "Let us walk to the Throne Room."

Shirou walked over and his followers soon followed suit to form an entourage. He soon exited the large building housing the teleportation circle and made his way through Carne Village. It was when he passed through the streets that people stopped what they were doing and cheered as Shirou passed through like he was a hero. In response, Shirou waved back with a smile.

Soon walking through the streets of Carne Village he made his way towards the center of the village and into a large stone building that acted as the town hall. There he passed through the heavily patrolled hallways and security checkpoints before arriving at his destination.

"I am not to be disturbed," said Shirou as he turned to his followers. "Nothing save for Carne Village coming under attack shall be a reason to disturb me. Understood?" His followers nodded his head. "Then I leave everything to you until I call for you."

He walked through the large stone doors into the throne room and the doors closed behind him.

The throne room was very large like many would expect. It could easily house several hundred people. What it lacked was the furniture and decoration that one expected from a throne room. Only essential furniture like one would need for large gathering was present as Shirou hated wealth being squandered on unnecessary things that could be better spent elsewhere.

"It seems like I will have to use my ace in the hole seeing that I might be dealing with entire guild of Players and their NPCs…" Shirou grumbled as he reviewed the information that he had gathered from the vampire, Shalltear Bloodfallen, and the six non-human maids, the Pleiades. "Ainz Oown Gown. What a troublesome group…" He shook his head. "At least, this time the whole fate of humanity isn't on the line... like the Chaldea Crisis…"

Shirou brought up a menu and pressed several items before he brought up his trump card. The trump card that he had never thought about using back in YGGDRASIL considering how broken and OP it was. Something that he knew YGGDRASIL developers would have thrown a fit and rebelled against the founder and key investor of YGGDRASIL. The spartan throne room soon underwent a transformation. It became exactly what one imagined when looking at a throne room. Filled with lavish and priceless furniture and decorations.

"Let's see if this works exactly like Waver Velvet had once described to me as he handed me what could be potentially the most broken World-Class Item…" Shirou muttered as he sat down on the throne and looked at the menu that popped before him. "I work this works as I definitely need some aid with the possible crisis at hand."

He pressed several buttons on the menu and soon a magic circle formed before him. It activated and immense amount of prana came out of it. So much prana that blue mist of condensed magical energy formed. The sheer power that he felt made him recall as his days as Chaldea's Master.

"I ask, are you my Master…" A voice that Shirou was incredibly familiar with spoke up as the magic circle faded away and a figure materialized.

"Welcome, Heroic Spirit!" Shirou called out. "I have called you forth to my ser…"

"Shirou? Is that you?" The voice of the summoned being interrupted Shirou.

"Arturia…? What…? How…?" Shirou asked in disbelief. "Impossible! I should only be able to summon a NPC…."

"NPC… Are you saying that I am Moon Cell?" Arturia asked in confusion.

"…Moon Cell?" Shirou repeated in a similar state of confusion.

"Since you don't know that name, I assume this is completely unrelated…" Arturia mumbled, but Shirou's sharp hearing caught what she said. "Anyway… Moon Cell is not important… When did you become a gamer, Shirou? Out of all the possible individuals that could become and are Shirou Emiya, none of them have been gamers…"

"Kami…" Shirou gripped his head as a headache began to form with all the question going through his mind and trying to comprehend what was going on. "Are you telling me I summoned an actual Heroic Spirit, not an NPC from YGGDRASIL but a real Heroic Spirit from the real Throne of Heroes …? How does a YGGDRASIL game item, a World-Class Item by the name of Throne of Heroes, connected to the real thing… The headache I am having just thinking about this…"

"Let's take this slowly, Shirou…" Arturia spoke in a calm tone. "How do you know me, Shirou?"

"Ha," Shirou sighed as he regained his composure. "I know you from two events. The Fifth Holy Grail War and the Chaldea Crisis…"

"Oh…" Arturia's mouth widened in an o-shape. "You're that Shirou… The one that become a host of Sengo Muramasa and learned of your true ancestry."

Happiness came to Shirou as he recalled that event. It had been an incredible period to learn who his ancestor had been and from there tracing down his family tree from his ancestor had allowed him to learn of biological family. Shirou also shivered at the ridiculous amount of power that he had been able to wield with the aid of his ancestor. Unlimited Blade Works combined with the legendary blacksmithing of Muramasa…

"That is me," Shirou nodded. "Since you made references to things that I have no knowledge of and seemingly familiar with many possible 'Shirou Emiyas', I assume you are a Heroic Spirit?"

"I am," Arturia nodded.

"Wow…" Shirou muttered just imagining the power that Arturia could yield if she was able to access the abilities of other Servant Classes like her spear, Rhongomyniad, while still having access to Excalibur. "You seem to be familiar with games given that you know what NPC means. Can you access your character stats menu?"

Arturia remained confused for a moment before she closed her eyes to access her memories. Memories that belonged to the lives of many possible Arturia Pendragons. It took some time to isolate the information she was looking for, but she soon found it. She opened her eyes and went through the menu.

"Here it is, Shirou," said Arturia as she made her character status menu visible to Shirou to see.

 _Name: Arturia Pendragon  
Race: High Human  
Total Level :100  
Job Level:_

· _Fighter (15)_

· _Cleric (15)_

· _Wizard (15)_

· _Knight (10)_

· _Sorcerer (10)_

· _Cursed Knight (5)_

· _Dark Knight (5)_

· _Holy Knight (5)_

· _Magic Knight (5)_

 _Character Status:_

· _HP: 100_

· _MP 78_

· _Physical Attack: 88_

· _Physical Defense: 85_

· _Agility: 79_

· _Magical Attack: 84_

· _Magical Defense: 78_

· _Resistance: 84_

· _Special Ability: 102_

· _Total: 778_

Shirou Emiya sighed. He had been expecting much more. As NPCs, Heroic Spirits and Servants acted Bosses that were several times stronger in stats and abilities than Players. Servants, the weaker variant of Heroic Spirits, requiring a full party of six Players while Heroic Spirits needed an entire Legion (six parties of six Players). Arturia didn't possess stats and presumably abilities of a Boss. She would be rated amongst the top Players with her character build and stats.

 _Still by looking at just purely at character build and stats, Arturia is superior to me. She has a very well optimized build for PvP._ Shirou thought to himself.

"Shirou, none of these stats make any sense to me." Arturia asked.

"Imagine a combination of your Saber, Lancer and Caster selves during the Chaldea Crisis. That should give you some idea of what you are capable of." Shirou replied.

Arturia shivered as she recalled the memories of the lives that herself that basically switched places with her older, half-sister, Morgan le Fey where she had become the evil witch to oppose Camelot and birth Mordred.

"Please don't bring up my Caster self…" Arturia shivered as she sealed away those unwanted memories.

"What is the problem? It is not like you're that the reason that you can also qualified for Caster is because the time you switched places with Morgan. The might be Alter Caster, but there was also a time where you were Queen Arturia, Wise Magical Queen of Camelot." Shirou asked in bafflement.

She didn't feel so well after hearing one possible path of that an Arturia Pendragon could achieve. The legend that Shirou referred to be the one where she reigned as Queen alongside Merlin as her husband and king. A terrible image that heavily conflicted with the perverted nature of the otherwise sagely and capable Merlin.

"Can we please not talk about me…" Arturia complained as she fought back the urge to vomit. "I would like to know about you. What has happened in your life since your time as the Chaldea Master?"

"It's the year, 2138. The world has changed greatly. Wildlife, natural scenery and farming has become a thing of the past given how populated Earth has become. I have taken to…" Shirou spoke as he launched into story detailing his life after last seeing Arturia as one of his Servants during the Chaldea Crisis.

"Zelretch is not informed in your arrival in this… 'New World'…? Are you sure? This sounds exactly like something he would do…" Arturia asked as she frowned after listening to Shirou's story.

"I am sure that Zelretch isn't involved. He isn't the type to just drop me off in another world without leaving some note or clues to how to get back. I have seen not a single shred to solve the mystery how I got here in the New World or how to get back." Shirou explained.

"Sadly, I will be unable to help you out," said Arturia in apologetic tone. "My Caster persona might be a master mage in many fields of magic but I am just as unable to use Kaleidoscope as you. What I can do is help you with these NPCs of Ainz Oown Gown. That is after all the reason why you summoned me."

"I am grateful for the help, Arturia. Who knows what threat the NPCs of Ainz Oown Gown can be to humanity." Shirou spoke. "I have a question, Arturia. How do you feel? Do you find anything unusual about yourself?"

"Now that you bring it up… I do feel strangely different. I can feel the abilities and Noble Phantasms that I have as Saber, Lancer or Caster but I also feel that I have access to abilities and skills that I shouldn't possess… Do you have any answers?"

"It seems like you are in the same situation as me…" Shirou muttered as he recalled the experience of his real body and YGGDRASIL avatar's merging as one. "Here is what I experienced, and I found out…"

\- O -

"Ainz-sama, what should we do about the situation?" Demiurge inquired.

Ainz Oown Gown breathed deeply as he thought about the situation before him. He had suffered devastating setback after setback. The first and most serious setback so far had been the loss of Shalltear. Following the first setback, his efforts to gather information regarding the New World had similarly suffered. The latest setback had come in the loss of the Pleiades, a group of six non-human maid.

"I wish to know what your current plan is," said Ainz as he fought back the urge to admit that he had only idle fantasy to make the parties getting in the way of his goals pay. "What would you do if you were in my place."

"I am honored that you value my advice," said Demiurge in a grateful tone, "but I could never compare my ability to plan and execute to your unmatched and supreme ability."

 _I am not as infallible as everyone thinks!_ Ainz wanted to scream as everyone in Nazarick seemed to believe that he had all-powerful and wise when he was far from it. "Demiurge, think this as a test. I wish to see the ability of Nazarick's grand strategist. Tell me how you would deal with the situation."

"I am honored to be tested by you, Ainz-sama. Please tell if there is anything wrong with my plans," said Demiurge. "We have learned of several important things about the New World. Ainz-sama, you were correct in your assessment that there is more to this world than it seemed. I, like so many of the Nazarick, had greatly underestimated the strength and ability of the inhabitants of the New World. It was for this reason that Shalltear and the Pleiades had been lost to us."

Ainz nodded his head in agreement. While he had been the first to not underestimate the New World, never in his mind had he thought that the New World was even more dangerous than he had initially thought. If he had been so careless than Shalltear, the Pleiades and many other assets of Nazarick wouldn't have been lost.

"What are these 'important things' that we learned of the New World?" Ainz asked as he wanted to know if Demiurge knew or had learned of something that he hadn't noticed or escaped him.

"There are many things that we have little or no knowledge of regarding the New World. That the inhabitants of the New World cannot be underestimated. Any operations outside of Nazarick must be undertaken with special care under assumption that they will fail and for contingency plans to be made."

"You are correct," Ainz nodded. "How goes our attempts to gather information regarding this Shirou Emiya?"

"Information regarding the adventurer is scarce. What little we know can either be confirmed be no sources or a very untrustworthy one. Progress could be faster, but it cannot be done without either alerting Shirou Emiya of our presence or spying." Demiurge responded.

Ainz nodded happily that his orders were being complied. His standing orders had been to gather as much information regarding Shirou Emiya as possible, but without bringing attention from the adventurer to Nazarick. He tapped away on the menu that only he could see. Before his eyes appeared memo of what was known regarding Shirou Emiya.

"Are you definitely sure that Shirou Emiya is a human? Can he possibly be another species pretending to be a human? He seems to be too powerful compared to the rest of the humans in the New World." Ainz asked.

"Our spies report that they have heard that Shirou Emiya is a High Human…" Demiurge reported.

"High Human…" Ainz muttered and internalized his thoughts to prevent Demiurge or any other NPCs of the Nazarick to know his internal turmoil. _This is not good. Whether or not Shirou Emiya is truly a Player is not important. The fact that we meant by dealing with an High Human is going to be troublesome._

High Human were considered "broken" and "overpowered" by many of YGGDRASIL's players for just about every race normally came with their strengths and weaknesses. There were many reasons for this sentiment. The first being that some of YGGDRASIL's most powerful NPCs (known as Heroic Spirits) were High Humans. The second being that High Humans had the largest per level growth stats and largest max level stats to the point that many of YGGDRASIL's top players were made up of High Humans.

 _This narrows down the list of potential Players that I might be dealing with, assuming that he is indeed a Player and using his real name instead of not using his ingame avatar name._ Ainz thought as he recalled that despite being considered many as OP or broken that it was incredible difficult to become a High Human to the point that few Players was ever able to complete the stringent requirements to change races and become a High Human.

"Shirou Emiya will be incredible difficult to kill – if that is the cause of action that you decide, Ainz-sama," said Demiurge, snapping Ainz out of his musing.

"That is indeed correct," Ainz nodded. "High Humans are notorious difficult to kill…"

Ainz recalled the times that his guild at their height had difficult clearing the dungeons and Raids that had Heroic Spirits or their lesser counterparts known as Servants. He shivered as a particularly Raid Boss that the entirety of his guild had once fought. The hail of Legendary and Divine-tier weapons like it was rain. Gilgamesh had been impossible foe to defeat. His guild had come close reducing the Raid Boss to 10% HP several times but always had died when Gilgamesh used his Ultimate Skill, Ea: the Sword of Rupture. A skill that killed anything and everything to the point that Gilgamesh had never been defeated and theorized the only way to win was to reduce Gilgamesh's HP to zero within the seconds he took use Ea.

 _I had completely forgotten about Gilgamesh… He is just an example of how dangerous and powerful a High Human could be._ Ainz thought darkly. He turned to Demiurge. "Demiurge, I want you to put bounties on Shirou Emiya. One bounty will be for gathering information. The other is to assassinate him."

"You believe that this Shirou Emiya is that much of a threat to Nazarick?" Demiurge asked in a very concerned tone.

Bringing his mouth to a close, Ainz carefully considered what words to say to Demiurge. Demiurge like the other NPCs of Nazarick considered him a Supreme Being. Someone that was all-powerful and mighty. It could possibly be catastrophic to the morale of Nazarick if he revealed that he treated Shirou Emiya as a potential threat that could end his life. Something that could never happen if Ainz had his way as there was so little that Nazarick knew about the New World. The unknown was the greatest danger to both him and Nazarick.

"Shirou Emiya is not a threat that I cannot handle," Ainz boasted. "What I am considered is the about of destruction that Nazarick could potentially face if Shirou Emiya were to learn of our existence and decided to come down on us. Nazarick contains treasures left by my fellow guildmates that could be damaged or destroyed."

"Of course, Ainz-sama, how can we forget the legacy left behind by the 41 Supreme Beings!" Demiurge shouted in alarm as he realized that he had forgotten something like that. "You are the wisest being, Ainz-sama, for you are thinking of events that I had not even considered about. Truly, you think ten steps… No, a hundred steps ahead!"

"That is not true…" Ainz wavered embarrassingly at Demiurge's high expectation of his not possible abilities. "Ahem… Make sure that when you make the bounties that it is impossible to trace it the request to us. That would nullify the whole point as we are trying to avoid the notice of Shirou Emiya."

"I will make sure to make it so," said Demiurge as he bowed. "I also have other plans that I wish for your approval, Ainz-sama…."

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	20. Declaration of War

**Chapter Twenty** " **Declaration of War** "

A crimson expanse spread before the eyes. It was a barren wasteland, devoid of almost all greenery. Those who waxed poetic called this land of death a field of blood. It was the Katze Plains ― a place where the undead and other monsters wandered, feared as a dangerous place by all. The most fearsome thing was the thin mist that shrouded its monsters no matter the time of the day. This fog produced weak undead reactions. By itself, the mist did nothing to living creatures. It did not drain life energy, nor did it inflict damage. However, because the mist registered as an undead creature to spells, it negated attempts to detect undead beings, and as a result many adventurers had been ambushed by undead while inside it.

However, that mist was absent now. Visibility was excellent, and one could see a long way. It was as though the land was welcoming the combatants of the upcoming war onto itself as future undead. The undead had dispersed with the fog, and none of them could be seen. A silent, lifeless stretch of land spread before them.

Collapsed towers, built hundreds of years ago, jutted out from the earth like scattered tombstones. Of course, none of them was intact. The towers were originally six floors high, but everything above the third floor had collapsed, and the debris was everywhere. Less than half of the thick walls were left. The cause was not so much weathering by time and the wind as battles between monsters. Scenes like these existed right next to normal grass-covered plains, sharply demarcated by an invisible line. This was why the Katze Plains was called a cursed land.

The sun shone on the land which had not seen its light for nearly a year. As though to look down on this unhallowed land, a vast structure loomed high over it from the other side of the boundary ― the world of the living. It was built with huge logs that were nowhere to be found on the surrounding plains, with sturdy walls that seemed to deny passage to everything in its vicinity. It was ringed by a shallow ditch that was nevertheless carefully excavated and filled with sharpened stakes. This was to ward against unintelligent undead.

On the other side of the ditch flew countless flags. Of these, the most numerous were the Empire's flags ― bearing the insignia of the Baharuth Empire. That was only to be expected. After all, this building, this fortress, was the Imperial Army's Katze Plain garrison base. The Empire had mobilized 60'000 knights for this operation. The garrison could house all of them, which itself spoke volumes about the base's size. And this formidable fortress, as mighty as a fortress, was built on a piece of easily defended terrain. It was built on top of a hill. This hill was not native to the Katze Plains but built up entirely through magical landscaping. Even the Baharuth Empire, which had adopted a national strategy of increasing the number of their magic casters, could not complete work like this in a short time. This structure had been built over a period of several years.

Originally, this place was intended to be the starting point of invasions targeting E-Rantel. That was to say, this massive fortress had been built with the intention of withstanding an extended siege by the Kingdom's hundreds of thousands of troops.

The Kingdom had no answer to the creation of this fortress, simply because they had no spare manpower or resources to attack the garrison. Although they would unite when the Empire invaded their own country, when it came to launching their own invasion, they had to discuss things with fellow members of their faction. In addition, deciding who would foot the bill for declaring war despite none of their land being at stake was also an issue. In the end, none of the nobles would bother unless they were in the line of fire.

Three Hippogriffs flew in the skies above that massive fortress. They began with a wide aerial orbit, followed by a slow descent. Any knight would know that this was the ceremonial descent of the Royal Air Guard ― troops under the Emperor's direct command ― which meant that an emissary of the Empire was about to land.

On the surface, there were around 10 mounted knights in a circular formation, each raising the Imperial flag. This was a return salute from the ground ― the ceremony for welcoming an Imperial emissary. The griffins landed in the center of the circle, and the accuracy of the landing was a test of the riders' skills, but all three passed with flying colors, which showed the excellence of their ability.

After landing, the Imperial emissaries mounted on the Hippogriffs revealed themselves. Although these knights were given the honor of carrying out ceremonial duties, they were so surprised that the flags they were holding wavered.

The reason for their brief panic was the man who was dressed in a manner completely unlike the other two people accompanying him. Once he removed his helmet and revealed his handsome features, everyone immediately knew who he was. The wind lightly tossed his blond hair, and his eyes were as blue as the sea. His mouth, which suggested an iron will, was tightly shut. He was the picture of the perfect knight. There was no knight who did not know who this man was. More importantly, there was nobody who did not know about the full plate armor he wore. It was made of the rare metal adamantite, and further enchanted with powerful magic. There were only a few suits of armor like this in the Empire. The wearer of this armor was one of the highest-ranking knights in the Empire. He was one of the Empire's Four Knights, "Violent Gale" Nimble Ark Dale Anock.

"I seek your supreme commander, General Kabein of the Second Legion. Do you know where he is?" Nimble addressed one of the knights in a strident voice that matched the image he projected.

"Sir! General Kabein is in a meeting now to plan the offensive against the Kingdom in a few days' time! I will have you escorted to the General's quarters, Anock-sama!"

"What is the current military readiness of the base?" Nilmble asked as he followed the guards that were escorting him to their commanding officer.

"I am not sure of the exact military readiness that is something that only the high ranked officer could tell you. From my understanding, we are ready to mount an attack or respond with a counter-attack at any given time."

Nimble nodded happily at the news he was hearing. It was expecting of the Baharuth Empire's military was always on high alert as they were not like many other nations that relied greatly on conscripts as a major part of their military. The Empire's military was a purely volunteer force filled with highly trained and disciplined men and women.

The knights brought Nimble to a luxurious tent. It was there the owner of the tent returned in the company of numerous guards. He was an old man whose hair was pure white, and he had a dignified air about him. Although he was armored like all the other knights, he gave off a completely different impression from them. One could say that he looked like a noble, rather than a soldier.

"Welcome, Nimble," said the old man with a broad smile on his face.

The man was Natel Inyem Dale Kabein. He was a noble who had been overshadowed by others, but the previous Emperor had recognized him for his talents and placed him in command of the Second Legion. Although he was not possessed of martial valor as a person, he was famed for his ability to command, with rumors saying that he had never lost a battle. With him in command, the Second Legion enjoyed very high morale. In fact, the knights accompanying Kabein were unable to hide their respect for him in every move they made.

"I do not know how to begin thanking the general, who came all this way to see me even though he is the supreme commander of this expedition." Nimble responded in the approved ceremonial fashion.

"No, no, Nimble. Dispense with the formalities. You're here on his Imperial Majesty's orders, right? You're not under my command. You need only speak to me as an equal."

Nimble politely smiled when it was obvious that was not the case. He might be part of the Empire's Four Knights, its strongest fighters, would often be tasked with carrying out the Emperor's will. In terms of authority, they would be considered equal to a general. However, in terms of age, experience and prestige, none of them were equal to Kabein. It was very difficult for him to treat Kabein as merely an equal unless an outsider were present.

"It itches at me that one of the Four Knights, the Empire's mightiest warriors, should be so stiff and formal around an old man like myself. How about just dispensing with the honorifics?" Kabein continued.

"Understood, General Kabein."

General Kabein nodded, as though to indicate his approval.

"Although, you picked a good time to come. The mist has dispersed, as though welcoming you."

"General Kabein, I will get straight to the point as you are a very busy man with a lot of responsibilities and very little time to carry out your burdensome duties," said Nimble. "The primary objective of this expedition has shifted. I doubt you failed to notice it."

The general nodded his head. It was not his first time leading an expedition force into the Re-estize Kingdom. What he was doing was something of an annual military operation that the Baharuth Empire undertook against the Re-estize Kingdom. A military operation for decades that had aimed at diminishing the economic output of the Kingdom that relied heavily on the conscription of workers and farmers to make the bulk of its military. The past military operation thus had aimed to chip away at the Kingdom's army with as few losses to the Empire military by using as few soldiers and military assets as possible. The number of soldiers and military assets that had been given to him far surpassed what was necessary for him to carry out his usual objective. A shift that the general had sensed as a change of objectives.

"This his Majesty want me to conquer parts or the entirety of the Kingdom?" Kabein inquired.

"His Majesty wants a small territory of the Kingdom to be conquered in the name of the Empire." Nimble replied.

Kabein's eyes widened after hearing the objective of his military expedition. He didn't know what he was exactly supposed to conquer but the Emperor most want the small proportion of territory belonging to the Kingdom incredibly badly if he was willingly to devote six legions (each legion of 10,000 soldiers strong with their support staff). Six legions were not a significant part of the Empire's military of 25 legions but it was still largest concentration of military forces against the Kingdom in more than a century.

The general folded his arms and closed his eyes as he processed the information. That was only for a brief period.

"I understand. If this is his Imperial Majesty's desire, then I shall carry it out. What I request is disclosure to why so many lives and military resources are being devoted to capturing this objective. I must know what to tell my soldiers to justify their lives are being used for."

"His Majesty has given me permission for full disclosure," said Nimble as he nodded to Kabein's request. "I warn you that this information is a state secret, warranting life imprisonment or execution if leaked." Nimble carefully looked into the eyes of Kabein to let him know how important the information was. "Do you know about the innovations of unknown origins that have been appearing on the market lately?"

The general frowned for a moment as he didn't know what Nimble was referring to. That was until he remembered ice cold beer not too long ago. Something that wouldn't have been viable because how remote the fortress was to gain access to ice or waste the precious time and effort of a mage for something so trivial. The ice-cold beer had only been made possible by an expensive luxury item of unknown design and origin that he had recently brought. Kabein recalled the item that had allowed him to drink the ice-cold beer being called a refrigerator. An item that was very similar to many objects of unknown design and origin that had been flooding the market at ridiculous prices.

"Yes, I do," Kabein nodded his head. "You are talking about the unknowns. The marvelous and exotic objects of unknown design and origin that have been the latest fuss. No one knows how they are made or where they come from. Only that it is ridiculously expensive. Are you suggesting that his Majesty knows who and where these objects are being produced?"

Nimble fell silent. Unknowns that was the commonly used term to refer to objects of unknown design and origin that had been recently flooding the market. They ranged from incredible useful objects such as the "iceboxes" and "refrigerator" to luxurious items like the toilet. Objects that were in incredible high demand and high price tag that people were racing to figure out how they worked or built in attempt to reverse engineer the objects for their own purposes and production. Some even placing huge bounties worth entire mansions for even the faintest hint to the origin of the producer of the Unknown.

"His Majesty has been able to learn of the Unknown's inventor(s) and the maker(s) thanks to the aid of Fluder-sama, and the Empire's intelligence network." Nimble affirmed. "The mission objective of this military expedition is here as followed: you are to annihilate the Kingdom's army to the point that they will not be able to mount resistance in interfering with our seizure of the inventor(s) and maker(s) of the Unknowns."

Kabein glanced to Nimble. The general was not looking at him, but the objective pinned to his breast pocket. The object (a highly decorated badge) Nimble carried was symbol of an imperial decree that invested the bearer was empowered to act with the full authority of the Emperor. It was a symbol that he acted directly as a representative of Emperor. Normally, Nimble would be equals to Kabein, where only under special circumstances that interfered with the Emperor's direct orders that Nimble outranked Kabein. With the royal badge, Nimble outranked Kabein if he carried it.

"Tell me general, everything about your army right now. Do you think that what you already have is sufficient for the task at hand? Request for more troops or resources? I will do everything in my power to get what you require for this military expedition as it is the future of the Baharuth Empire at stake here…"

\- O -

The meeting was convened within the Valencia Palace of the Re-Estize Kingdom. Gazef Stronoff had been standing motionless beside King Ranpossa III, who was seated on his throne. He surveyed the serried ranks of nobles before him, and his eyes widened slightly as he picked out the forms of the Six Great Nobles among them.

The six of them gathered together was a rare occurrence. The heads of these six families controlled almost as much land as the King, and between them their military power surpassed that of the King himself. Because of this, they frequently found reasons to excuse themselves from the King's summons. This was especially true for the leader of the anti-royalty faction ― the Noble faction ― Marquis Bowlorobe, who did not even bother to hide his disdain for the King. It was bad enough that for a while, people thought the Kingdom might fall apart from within.

Next, Gazef's eyes went to the King's three children. The most eye-catching of them all was the King's third daughter, the "Golden Princess", Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself. After that was his second son, the Second Prince, Zanack Valurean Igana Ryle Vaiself. Last was the eldest son, the First Prince Barbro Andrean Ield Ryle Vaiself. He had a strong body and a neatly trimmed haircut.

Any meeting attended by Marquis Bowlorobe of the Noble Faction was sure to be an intense one. Gazef averted his eyes from the heavy atmosphere, which seemed to loom overhead like gathering storm clouds and looked at the rest of the nobles.

Of the three men present, who belonged to the Royal faction, the first to catch Gazef's eye was Marquis Brumerush, the most luxuriously dressed person in the court.

Marquis Brumerush with handsome features was approaching his forties. His domain contained gold and mithril mines, whose bounty of precious metals made him the wealthiest man in the Kingdom. However, dark whispers circulated that he was extremely greedy, to the point where he would even betray his own family for a gold coin. There were also rumors that he had betrayed the Kingdom and was selling information to the Empire. However, because of a lack of concrete evidence, nothing could be done about him. After all, beheading Marquis Brumerush ―a prominent supporter of the Royal faction― without any proof would cause all the nobles who followed him to switch to the anti-Royal faction. If he was aware of this fact and took advantage of it to keep selling off information, then he would truly be the most despicable person present.

Next, Gazef's eyes turned to the youngest and most handsome of the Great Nobles, Marquis Pespeya. He was married to the King's eldest daughter and became the head of his household at the same time as his marriage. Although little was known about his abilities and personality, his father possessed an excellent personality and was a competent man, so Gazef felt that the young Pespeya might take after his sire.

In contrast, the eldest among the Six Nobles was Margrave Urovarna. His hair was white, and so little of it remained that there might as well have not been any at all. Though his body and limbs looked like gnarled wood, he still retained the gravitas expected of an elder. Urovarna was the most persuasive of the Great Nobles.

Arrayed against them were the three members of the Noble Faction.

First was the core of the Noble Faction, Marquis Bowlorobe, who controlled the most territory among the Great Nobles. His face was heavily scarred, a lord who looked like a warrior. As he was already in his fifties, his once-stout body which had been perfected through unrelenting training was little more than a memory of the past, but his voice and predator's gaze made people think that there must have been more than a little bit of his warrior-self left in him. Although he ―as a warrior― had lost much of his strength to age, as a commander, he was a better commander than even Gazef, which made him just as indispensable to the Kingdom as the Royal Guard Captain.

Beside Bowlorobe was Count Ritton. He was a man whose appearance called to mind the image of a fox, and one of the lower-ranked members of the Six. As such, he resorted to ways and means to raise his status. However, his personality of not caring about others' suffering if it meant he could expand his power was not well received by other nobles. Allying himself to Marquis Bowlorobe must have been a strategic move to escape his enemies.

The final man of the Noble Faction had slicked-back blonde hair and narrow blue eyes. His face was pale and unhealthy-looking, with little sign that it had seen much sunlight. He was tall and skinny. Combined with his sallow complexion, he gave off the impression of a snake. He was not yet forty but looked older because of his unhealthy pallor. With mixed emotions churning in his heart, Gazef looked away from him ― from Marquis Raeven.

The impending succession of the next monarch had only intensified the power struggles.

Marquis Bowlorobe and Count Ritton of the Noble Faction, as well as Margrave Urovarna of the Royal Faction, all backed First Prince Barbro, while most of the unaffiliated nobles supported Marquis Pespeya, who had married the First Princess. Raeven was on the side of Second Prince Zanack, while Marquis Brumerush did not seem to be concerned with matters of succession.

For all these reasons, the King sat on his throne without making a fuss. If he pointed a finger at anyone, there was a danger of civil war breaking out.

Until recently, Gazef had no opinion on who should become the next King. But now, his heart was leaning toward Zanack. Either that, or Princess Renner as a dark horse, but the Kingdom, in all its long history, had never been ruled by a queen, so that was probably out of the question.

"Now then, let us begin." The King's tone seemed slightly different than usual. Those with sensitive ears might have guessed the reason for today's gathering and showed it with curious suspicion. "Read out the proclamation delivered by the Imperial emissary."

In accordance with the King's orders, the vassals flanking him on both sides began reading the contents of the parchment. It had a lot of flowery and official language that was normally associated with official statements. Simply, the contents translated into:

 _The Baharuth Empire demands that the Re-Estize Kingdom peacefully hand over the area known as Carne Village, which is rightfully owned and claimed by the Empire. If the Kingdom does not comply with this demand, the Empire will use military force to retake what is rightfully its own territory. This will be a just war, fought to end unjust occupation._

After the contents were read out, the room exploded into a discussion.

"For those of who don't know," said the King. "Carne Village is a small agricultural village in the hotly contested zone which is in the borders of our kingdom and the Empire."

"This makes absolutely no sense?! Why would the Empire commit six legions for just one village? The largest military force sent by the Empire in more than a century!"

"The Empire couldn't figure out a proper war justification this time, so they got desperate and made this feeble claim!" Marquis Bowlorobe's boisterous cry rang throughout the hall. His formidable presence ― a testament to his former glory as a warrior ― seemed to give the other nobles courage, and they returned his shout with their own approval.

"Although it's been delayed, isn't this just the same old Imperial invasion they announce every year? They always find some stupid reason to declare war, so this time round, they must really be scraping the bottom of the barrel to throw up this farming village." Count Ritton's words were followed by the derisive laughter of the massed nobles. "However…" The count turned his foxlike eyes ―filled with disdain― toward Gazef. "I believe we've heard of this village before, haven't we, oh Royal Guard Captain Stronoff?"

"...Indeed, that is where I fought members of the Sunlight Scripture at the outskirts of E-Rantel, several months ago." Gazef replied.

"The report was unbelievable. You claim that a single man fought the Sunlight Scripture. A man that you claim was also a member of the Black Scripture. Why would members of the Slane Theocracy fight amongst each other? You also claimed that all the villagers and your soldiers that had been killed were resurrected back to life. Such a claim is impossible. Not even the most skilled of priests could use resurrections on dozens of people in rapid succession. What you reported is a story to justify how were forced to run with your tail between your legs!" Count Ritton laughed mockingly.

The scornful laughter of the nobles could be heard all around, yet nobody stopped it, because Gazef, who was born a commoner, as hated by many members of the Noble faction.

If it had been a member of the Royal faction, the King would have intervened, but since Count Ritton belonged to the opposition, the King could only furrow his brow.

Just as the court was about to fall into squabbling, a voice of aid rang out from Ritton's side.

"The justification is irrelevant as it has been for decades. What we need to decide on is how to respond to the false Emperor, isn't that so, your Majesty?" Marquis Bowlorobe spoke up.

"It is as Marquis Bowlorobe says. We need to decide what the Kingdom's answer will be."

"I beg your permission to speak," Marquis Pespeya said and he continued after receiving a nod from the King. "Accepting the Emperor's terms will be very difficult. Our only recourse is war."

The mention of war sparked activity amongst the serried ranks of the nobility.

"Oh! Now is the time to crush them once and for all, and then take the fight to the Empire's doorstep."

"You're absolutely right, I'm tired of the constant Imperial invasions."

"It's time to let the fools in the Empire know how fearsome we can be!"

"Exactly, just as the Marquis says."

These words, sandwiched by scattered laughter and repeated throughout the throng of nobles, grated unbearably on Gazef's ears. The last few years, they had regularly met the Empire on the field of battle at Katze Plains. For the most part, they had simply drawn up battle lines and confronted each other or skirmished briefly with minor losses to the Kingdom. This year would probably be more of the same, and the nobles took on an air of laxity as they imagined the same old events playing out again. However, Gazef felt things would end differently this time.

"Don't think that this battle will end in a small skirmish like it always has!" Gazef shouted.

The nobles looked like they had been splashed with a basin of cold water and turned reproachful looks on him.

"I see. This is what our Royal Guard Captain believes. Can you give us a reason for that?" The King asked.

"Yes, your Majesty, that is…" Gazef suddenly had the image of a certain person set alarm bells ringing through his heart. "…That is to say, it is because of Shirou Emiya."

The room became silent. Despite their disdain or apathy for commoners, none of the nobles could ignore someone such as Shirou Emiya. He and his team, Chaldea, had become something of a reputable individual that had solved many of the Kingdom's issues regarding monsters and even left some of the nobles indebt to him for fixing problems that they would like kept secret.

"What does Shirou Emiya have to do with this discussion?" A noble asked and many other nobles too nodded their heads as they looked for further information.

"That is because of Shirou Emiya's hometown is said to be Carne Village," said the King.

"Your Majesty, are you saying that Carne Village has large importance because it is the hometown of Shirou Emiya?"

"Yes," Gazef nodded. "I believe that since Shirou has emotional attachment to his hometown, it can be used as a leverage against him. It is open secret that he knows the secrets of many in this room. He has not revealed any of those secrets so far as he takes oaths of secrecy seriously but that might change if his hometown is used as a hostage."

Many of the nobles shivered. Some of them had skeletons in the closest that could potentially damage them or their families beyond repair or take incredible long time to recover from. A secret that they would do just about anything to protect and even turn traitor against their country if pressed. The thought that the Shirou Emiya might be forced to spill their secrets to the Empire made the image of possible civil war splitting the Kingdom didn't seem to farfetched as that was how far they were willingly to protect some of their secrets hidden.

"My King," said Gazef as he addressed his king. "I suggest that we hand over Carne Village."

After a moment's silence, angry shouts flew.

"You, craven coward! How shameless can you get, you chicken-heart?!"

Similar sentiments were soon shouted from the nobles of the Royal faction.

"After his Majesty showed you such kindness, you turn around and tell him to surrender his demesne to outsiders? When did you start serving the false Emperor?! Not to mention, you haven't even answered his Majesty's question!"

In the face of such deserved castigation, Gazef could not answer. Had he been in their position, he would probably have done the same thing.

"Enough!" The king shouted as he reached a helping hand out to Gazef in his hour of need.

"But, your Majesty!"

"I am deeply grateful that my subjects would be so moved on my behalf. It is because of that reason that I ask you to remember that my Royal Guard Captain would never betray me. He has fearlessly thrust himself into danger countless times for me. Someone like that would never do anything which would harm me."

The nobles who had shouted at Gazef bowed to the King.

"Royal Guard Captain, whom I trust like my right hand. Even if you are the one who puts forth that proposal, I cannot agree to it. Giving up one's domain without a fight is not befitting of a ruler. Such an act cannot be allowed for the sake of those who live upon it. It would ruin their peaceful lives," the King continued. "There must be a reason why you presented your idea. Tell me what led to you make such a suggestion."

"I am suggesting that we relocate those individuals that Shirou has emotional ties to. This way we can hand over Carne Village without bloodshed while still be able to protect many of the Kingdom's secrets." Gazef replied.

The King scratched his chin and thought about Gazef's reasonable explanation. If those that Shirou had emotional ties were moved than there was no way that the Empire could use them as leverage to make the Kingdom nobles' secrets. He looked around and many other nobles in the room seemed to agree. That was until someone spoke up.

"What if he has sentimental ties to not just a few people but everyone on the village. Maybe he might be attached to the village itself? What will we do if any of these scenarios are the case?" Princess Renner refuted.

"I…" Gazef spoke up but left speechless as he could not think up of any argument to the Princess' point.

"We have been given a month to respond," said the King. "I suggest we deploy our troops and ready them for potential war while looking for possible resolution before the war breaks out. These are my list of ideas…"

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	21. Escalation

**Chapter Twenty-One "Escalation"**

Winter was hell for small villages. All they could do was pray for the coming of the warmer seasons while weathering the cold days in their homes. If spring was late, or if the harvest in autumn was meager, they might be forced to eat their seed stock, and people would still starve to death even if they did so. While there was nearly no field work to be done in winter, village life was still closely associated with the words "activity". There were many tasks to be done indoors, like tending the livestock, maintaining the farming tools, repairing their homes, livestock coops, and so on. There was simply no time to rest.

This would've been once true for Carne Village. Carne Village's future seemed very bright indeed. All of this was thanks to Shirou Emiya, who had saved the village and helped it in many ways. Many people in the village gave thanks to the two of them, and some even prayed to them over breakfast, revering them in the same breath as they did the gods. For this reason, Enri Emmot muttered a prayer of thanks to her hometown's patron.

Enri and Nfirea headed to a small hut. She opened the wooden door and entered, followed closely by Nfirea. Enri went straight in after opening the door and sat herself down onto a pile of hay, sinking her rear into the dried grass with a soft _pomf_. After closing the door, Nfirea sat by her side, his magic light illuminating the surroundings.

"Chief, you should save the playing around for after you finish this; we still need to see if we have enough hay and then make several decisions afterwards."

"You're calling me Chief again…" Enri complained. Nfirea could not help giggling at Enri's depressed reply. "Well, that's fine, isn't it? I _am_ the Chief, after all!" She let out a tiresome sigh and looked to her lover. "There are many more capable individuals that do what I am being forced too. Older, more experienced individuals that are _supposed to be dead_!"

"Remember… They are supposed to be dead as you said when in reality they are not…" Nfirea look turned serious. "Why are you complaining? Shirou-sama thought it was good opportunity for you to demonstrate and hone your latent leadership skills that Arturia-sama had noted you possessed."

"I am just annoyed that we are not aiding in the _hidden tasks._ They are so much more interesting and fun from what I hear." Enri whined.

"Everyone has a role to play in making the future of Shirou-sama's vision come true," said Nfirea. "Our part just happens to be playing along with the official story regarding Carne."

"It so strange that no one besides outsiders call our home, Carne," said Enri. "Anyway… There is no point in us pretending Carne is still the small, farming village that we once were. The magic that Shirou-sama and his followers enacted makes everyone believe in that story. You, me and dozens of people don't have to pretend to be farmers anymore… It's just a waste of time and effort…"

"We are still farmers," Nfirea corrected.

"Not most of us anymore…" Enri noted as she recalled the changes that had been wrought by Shirou on Carne. "A majority are still farmers, but we are learning the knowledge and skills to become something more than just simple farmers. All thanks to Shirou-sama's library inside Chaldea and professional experts residing within…"

Nfirea nodded his head. It had been awe-inspiring sight to see the dozens of farmers that had originally made of Carne Village learning things that they had never been able to before because they didn't have the resources or connections to make a thing possible. Seeing simple farmers become skilled tradesmen and highly trained professions. A simple farming village turned into a bustling town filled with professionals of all sorts in less than a year.

The door flew open without a knock. So forceful was the entry that the door crashed loudly against the nearby wall. It caused both Nfirea and Enri to jump up. Yet, something also happened that both of them wouldn't have reacted the same a year ago. Their bodies and minds prepared for a possible fight. Something that had been trained into them as part of Shirou's self-defense training that he had offered to Carne's residents.

"What happened?" Enri inquired as her mind raced through several possible scenarios as given her recent training.

"We have an emergency! It's an army! There's an army headed this way!"

"Eh?! What, what did you say?!" Enri shouted as she fearfully remembered when Carne had been attacked months ago and only because of the rescue of Shirou Emiya had saved them.

"Enri…" Nfirea walked behind Enri and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "There is no need to panic. Remember your training… Shirou-sama would not have placed you in charge if he didn't trust in you."

"You are right," said Enri as she calmed down. She gave herself a light slap to her cheeks to psyche herself up. "Whose troops, are they?"

"We don't know about heraldry so we couldn't tell. But there's a lot of different coats of arms, so you should come and look… In any case, we should shut the gate first. What should we do?"

"Ah! Ah… well, can you tell us which coats of arms make up the most among them? If you can describe or sketch them for me, I can help." Nfirea replied as he tried to recall his knowledge of the heraldry used by the Re-Estize Kingdom's nobility. After listening to the description of heraldries, a puzzled expression spread over Nfirea's face. "How strange. Those are flags from the Kingdom. If we knew which nobles' crests they were, we could identify who was coming here."

"What on earth's going on? Do you know why, Nfirea?" Enri asked. "Do you think they discovered our secret?"

"Why would the Royal Army come to the village? If they wanted to go to the Great Forest of Tob, it's strange that they're sending so many troops. They could have just sent adventurers instead. If that's the case… maybe there's a revolt or something…" Nfirea spoke absentmindedly.

"Did such a thing really happen?"

"It's just hearsay, but I've heard that the King's power in the Kingdom isn't actually very strong. Currently, it seems like the nobles are in conflict with the King. If that's the case, are they coming to Carne Village to attack the King's territory?" Nfirea replied.

The blood drained from Enri's face. She didn't want to remember the terror and misery that she had felt months ago when she had seen her family, friends and neighbours dying and being tortured. Her fear soon disappeared as she remembered what she had been learning over the past few months to prevent such a thing from happening again. This time she was ready to face the situation with the skills necessary to fight it head on.

 _Could it be that the village would be subject to a dreadful assault like last time?_ Enri thought in dread. "We should flee into the forest."

"Why are we running?" Nfirea asked curiously as he remembered his lover vowing to never run away from a fight without first trying to stand her ground before considering running.

"Shirou-sama's orders were very clear," said Enri. "We are to maintain the illusion that Carne is still a simple farming village. If we were to fight back in our current state it will reveal our secret."

"I don't that is possible, Enri-san. We are looking at an army of thousands. Well above ten thousand…"

Both Nfirea's and Enri's eyes widened and their jaws slacked at the news. Ten thousand! Over Ten thousand! That was something that they couldn't imagine possible. That was a number of soldiers that was unfathomable. Carne was not the defenseless farming village it had once been. Yet, an army over ten thousand seemed something that could be defeated despite the miraculous transformation to Carne.

"Shirou-sama and Arturia-sama is also not here nor are they contactable…"

"For some reason I got the feeling that Shirou-sama and Arturia-sama are testing us…" Enri muttered to herself before she focused at the situation at hand. "Have anyone this is not willingly to stay to retreat underground into Chaldea. Also request reinforcements from Chaldea."

"That has already been done, but I was told that we are to handle the situation at best as we can. It seems like there situation going on Chaldea so they cannot help…"

"What would be going on down at Chaldea at this very moment that they cannot help…?" Nfirea asked in confusion.

"Who knows?" Enri replied as she brushed off the problem for later as there was a more pressing concern issue at hand. "Tell the militia to form up near the front gate. I will be heading there right now."

"Of course, Enri-san. I shall relay your orders at once."

Enri thanked the older man for letting them know about the situation and wished him to be safe as she made her way towards the front gate of Carne. Nfirea followed in suit. Although he kept silent as he saw his lover seemed to be deep in thought as they walked.

Enri and Nfirea soon found themselves at the front gate. Already a few of the villagers that made up the village militia had seemed to have heard about the orders they had gathered with their equipment. A few of them greeted them in a friendly manner but many seemed very concerned or tensed to do any more than eye contact with Nfirea and Enri to acknowledge their presence.

Soon the sound of hooves came from the other side of closed front gate. Enri was quick to climb up the watch tower housed within the gatehouse that was part of front gate. What Enri saw was a lone rider that was lightly equipped on horseback carrying a flag that Enri didn't recognize.

"This one is the envoy of the First Prince of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Barbro Andrean Ield DDale Vaiself! Open the gate and let us in!"

"The First Prince?" Enri asked in an incredulous tone as she doubted what she had heard with her ears.

However, judging by the way Nfirea was scurrying up the watchtower with a concerned look, she was certain that the envoy's words were true. Enri didn't want to make the wrong assumptions so she asked her lover to confirm if the messenger's words were true.

"The King's flag is among them. Only the royal family or those related to them would be allowed to bear that flag." Nfirea confirmed. "It means that the royal family has brought troops to our village."

"Do you think that they have discovered our village's secrets?" Enri whispered in a concerned tone.

"It's possible?" Nfirea nodded. "Although, I find it hard to believe that anyone could have discovered our secret given our far Shirou-sama had gone to hide our secret…"

"Shirou-sama warned us that despite the lengths he went to hide our secrets that it might be discovered. That is why he kept telling us to try on best efforts with our secrecy…" Enri replied. She soon turned to the messenger. "Why, why do you need to send so many troops to a frontier village like this?"

"Villagers like you don't need to know about that! This land belongs to the King, and obeying the Prince is the proper thing to do! Or could it be that you're defying the King ― rising up in revolt?"

Enri's body shuddered. She knew how powerful her village's patron was. After all he was the leader of Team Chaldea, one of the only few Admantite-class adventurer teams of Re-Estize Kingdom. His fame was well known across the Kingdom for his ability to slay powerful monsters and resolving difficult situations that others would have dealing with. Yet, even he couldn't face an army of tens of thousands.

It was obvious what had to be done. As subjects of the King, they should open their doors. However… Enri exchanged a glance with Nfirea.

"There is no need to worry…" Nfirea gave his lover a smile. "Shirou-sama had been very cautious for a reason. It was why we had trained for so many possible scenarios like this one. Besides… No one will be able to find the hidden entrances into Chaldea and even if they did it was so they are so deceiving that no one will notice their true purpose."

Enri smiled and hugged Nfirea for the emotional support.

"I repeat. Open the gate!"

"My, my apologies! Right now, right now we're preparing to welcome his Majesty the Prince! Please, hold on a bit!" Enri quickly responded with the first excuse we could think of.

"Repeat yourself, woman! Are you in charge of this village? This delay is unacceptable! Do not waste even a single second in opening the gate!"

"Why are you so desperate to get in?!" Enri shouted. There was a silence that confused Enri. "Why aren't you answering! You are impostors pretending to be Kingdom troops, aren't you!"

"Does the adventurer, Shirou Emiya, not come from this village once?"

For a moment, Enri felt a spike of panic before Nfirea held her hand and gave her warm smile. She felt the panic fade away and took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

"Yes that is correct. Shirou-sama comes from this village," Enri replied as she recalled the excuse that Shirou had told all the villagers to tell any outsiders. "Is there any reason for such a large army is heading towards this village?"

"The Baharuth Empire has declared war on the Re-Estize Kingdom with the intent of capturing this village. To prevent this empire from capturing this village his Majesty, King Ramposa III, wishes to station a garrison in this village."

"Oh…" Enri muttered as she finally understood the situation. "There-there is cow dung everywhere! W-we can't let the Prince walk into a place like this! Please give us some time to make this village presentable for his Highness."

"Oh, um. Understood. I will relay your message to his Highness."

\- O -

"Say it one more time?!" Barbro snapped at the reporting knight.

Barbro's frustration had reached its limit. He glared at the reporting knight with a look usually reserved for an enemy and not an ally. Barbro's anger overflowed as he grinded his teeth in frustration teeth.

"Sir! Carne Village will not open their gates until they make the village presentable for your Highness."

As he listened to the knight's calm reply, Barbro was filled with the sudden desire to punch him. However, that would have been foolish. Barbro struggled to control the anger welling up in his fist. This knight included, nobody here was actually sworn to Barbro. In the first place, Barbro commanded no troops. Every man here was under orders from their liege lord, or in the company of their lord. Because of that, he could not strike this knight while his comrades were watching.

"Why is that? Why are those peasants in Carne Village not opening the gate? The land is directly ruled by the royal family! They have a duty to obey me! I order them to open the gate right now!" As his frustration built, so did his agitation, and Barbro no longer picked his words carefully. "I don't get it! Do they take me for a fool? What the hell are they thinking?!"

The villagers were beings far inferior to the First Prince. These beings were now insulting him. They should be opening the gate to the village happily for their prince. It was their duty as serfs to his family. The nerve that they were showing by making excuses and not opening the gate was suspicious. He thought about declaring them traitors before he remembered something important. The original purpose of his mission was not to harm Carne Village but to protect it from the Empire.

"Tell them I don't care about the village being made presentable or suitable for the presence of royalty." Barbro ordered.

"I will relay your orders at once!"

Barbro turned around and didn't pay attention to the knight leaving his presence. He turned to look at Carne Village. It didn't look to much different from many frontier village that dotted the Kingdom's borders. Huts or simple wooden homes being called homes. Large fields surrounding the village. Barbro had a hard time believing that such a simple farming village could have given rise to such a powerful and famous adventurer as Shirou Emiya. He stood there thinking about how Shirou Emiya could have grown up to become the man he currently was.

Several minutes passed as Barbro waited. A knight soon returned to relay that the village had refused to open their gates with the same excuse. That made him angry.

"Oi! Prepare the flame arrows!" Barbro shouted.

"F-flame arrows?!" One of the knights charged with protecting Barbro asked in confusion.

"That's right." Barbro nodded. "There is no reason for the villagers to be taking so long when I told them I don't care how the village looked or if it was unsuitable for my presence. It is suspicious that the villagers are making excuses for so long and refusing to open the gates. Threaten them with flame arrows. We must found out why the villagers are acting so suspiciously."

"Understood, your Highness!"

\- O -

"Is everyone prepared?" Enri asked as she looked at the gathered militia. There were several nods from the militia. She nodded back happily.

"Citizens of Carne Village because you did not immediately open the gate when ordered, the fact of whether you are loyal subjects of the Kingdom has been called into question. You are to open the gate at once as we question and search your homes!"

The tense atmosphere took a completely different meaning amongst the villagers. They were loyal citizens of the Kingdom. However, that loyalty paled in comparison to the one they had to the man that had saved their village for no charge or obligation. After all, when their families, friends and lovers had been murdered, the only one who had reached out a hand to help them was Shirou Emiya. Their loyalty had further been turned unshakable when he was responsible for their village's recent prosperity.

"There's no way I'll let myself be questioned! I bet they are going to torture us!"

"Despite how much Shirou-sama has done to hide Chaldea and his secret projects there might be a chance that the Kingdom will discover it. We cannot surrender ourselves to be captured and our homes searched! We need to fight back! To protect Shirou-sama's Chaldea and secret projects!"

Loud arguments like these echoed from all around. However, the one thing they had in common was that nobody wanted to do anything which might inconvenience their hero.

 _I don't think we can hide Chaldea and Shirou-sama secrets anymore since the Kingdom has become suspicious of us. They will not leave any stone unturned to find what we are hiding… It seems fighting is inevitable given that_ , Enri thought gloomily.

"You have been warned and refused to open the gates! What happens next is on you!"

Soon cracking sounds could be heard. Sound of several objects whistling through the air followed. As the sound came closer, streaks of brilliant red light appeared before their eyes, and arrows fell like rain onto the watchtower. The crisp sound of arrows piercing into wood filled everyone's ears.

"…No way…" Enri drew a sudden breath as she realized that the Kingdom was longer willingly to use diplomacy and use force.

The watchtower began to burn. The thatched roof caught alight in an instant and turned into a fire which got fiercer by the second, and the roof collapsed. Everyone in the village could see the destruction of the tower, no matter where they were. Wails of sorrow rose from all around her. One in particular was especially loud. As Enri's breathing turned chaotic from this revisited trauma, she saw the man who had screamed the loudest, whose voice carried the most anguish.

He was a man who had moved into the village. His face was a mix of equal parts hatred and despair. She looked around herself, and many of the immigrants had similar expressions on their faces. Enri remembered. She remembered that their villages had been burned down in a similar way.

"They're the enemy!" The man screamed. "They're the enemy! If they weren't the enemy, they wouldn't be doing this! I want to fight them!"

"To hell with the Kingdom! They're scum who didn't even help us! And now they want to burn this place down too?!" A plump woman shouted.

"I won't forgive them for this! If they want to kill me, go right ahead! I'll take as many of the bastards down with me as I can! I'll take revenge for him!" A young man followed up with a cry of his own.

Madness and hatred were saturating the air, thanks in no small part to the flame arrows.

"Enri," said Nfirea in a tone as hard as steel. "It's time to make a decision."

"Everyone, prepare yourselves! Shirou-sama will never abandon us. We don't know what is going on inside Chaldea but all we have to do is hold out! Our savior will come!" Enri shouted as she demonstrated the rare charisma that only Arturia had spotted.

The madness soon faded away as the militia focused their attention on Enri. A great chorus of approval came in response Enri words. Their eyes blazing with determination to protect their home and the secrets that lay in their village. With a thunderous roar, their fists were tightly clenched. The looks on their faces showed their determination to resist to the end.

"We'll fight! We'll all fight! Don't take any risks. Our goal is not to defeat the enemy but to pay time for Shirou-sama and Chaldea to respond. Stay alive everyone!" Enri shouted.

\- O -

Prince Barbro smiled in pleasure as the gate opened slowly. It seemed that Shirou Emiya might be a traitor or a spy for the Empire given that the suspicious villagers of his hometown could reflect his true nature. If that assumption was true than Carne Village needed to be quickly subdued, its inhabitants interrogated, and homes searched for any evidence of Shirou's treachery.

His soldiers slowly advanced to the gate to enter the confines of Carne Village. Victory seemed assured as his soldiers were faced with nothing more farmers. Barbro was about to turn around and enter his quarters as it was obvious that the battle was a foregone conclusion. That was until soldiers were flung back like thrown dolls. Their bodies crashing back into the ground to remain unmoving or mortally wounded.

"What?! What is going on?!" Barbro shouted in disbelief at what he had just witnessed, and even greater shock came to him when he saw who were responsible. "How…?! They are just…?!"

Soon, the ones that had sent Barbro's soldiers flying loomed in the opening of the gate. The soldiers were just as shocked by what they saw as Barbro was. Their minds betrayed them as what they saw didn't match what they imagined. Several more soldiers were sent flying as they couldn't accept what they saw and who was responsible.

Amidst a spray of blood and gore, the stricken soldiers flew into the distance and impacted on the ground, which woke their fellow troops from their stupor. They panicked, turned tail and desperately began fleeing. Several more individuals appeared from behind the gate, as if to pursue them. As the soldiers fell back in a disgraceful rout, they were struck and sent flying. It looked like children kicking their dolls into the distance.

Barbro was kept shocked in place as he was frozen in place with disbelief at what he was seeing. His eyes had to be fooling him. What he saw were clearly humans. A poorly equipped militia from their appearance but the abilities they were demonstrating was something that very few humans should be able to do. Only something that powerful monsters with superhuman strength should do but the fact that he was seeing human-dressed-militia possessing superhuman strength dashed such notions.

"Who are they?! Are we fighting Gazef?!" Barbro shouted in disbelief as similar words were spoken around him.

The sound of a horn rang through the air. Knights had raised their lances in unison. It was a textbook motion that showed that they were professional soldiers. However, the fleeing conscripts seemed difficult for the knights to plunge into the chaotic battlefield.

"Why aren't you shooting yet?!" Barbro shouted as his military training kicked into effect to calm him and forced him to take command. "Even Gazef cannot block a hail of arrows!"

A similar effect of military training kicking into place happened as the military officers around him listened to Barbro's orders. They soon began to return to their duties and relayed Barbro's orders down the chain of command. It was several minutes before the orders finally trickled down as archers prepared to fire a relentless barrage of arrows.

The Carne militia seemed to have predicted or noticed what the Kingdom's troops were doing. They began to retreat. The fleeing conscripts as meat shields, preventing the cavalry from pursuing, and in the end, they fell back into the gate.

Barbro's men received the survivors and then began reorganizing into a proper battle formation.

He gripped his reins rightly. Barbro listened to the number of causalities. The number stood five hundred. Past experience told Barbro that likely more than half those losses had come from the unorganized retreat as the conscripts only thought about fleeing with their own lives and disregarding if their actions get others killed.

Barbro could not help clicking his tongue in annoyance, knowing the surrounding nobles' eyes were on him. However, he had no time to pretend to be calm. He turned a keen eye on the knight running toward him. It was the commander of the conscripts that had been sent packing.

"…What the hell was that? What's going on?!" Barbro demanded.

"I, I don't know, sir. Nobody expected farmers too… This is just abnormal… what on earth happened in that village…"

"Never mind…" Barbro spoke he pinched his nose. _No one could've known this was going on._

Cold and pragmatic mind took hold as military training took hold. Barbro analyzed what he had just witnessed. The militia that had fought them were clearly not of Gazef's caliber. If that had been the case none of the thousand-strong battalion of conscripts would've returned alive. A single individual of Gazef's caliber had the ability to singlehandedly slaughter a thousand soldiers. Rational analyze told him that the militia were not yet up to Gazef's caliber or even close, but he was facing a force that was clearly not composed of normal humans despite their seemingly poorly equipped nature.

"Felix!" Barbro called out for the nearest magical expert.

"Yes, your Highness?!" Felix, Barbos' personal magician, replied.

"Take a look at the militia tell me if you notice anything?" Barbro commanded.

"The distance makes it hard for me, but I can tell you, your Highness, that despite the militia being equipped with what looks substandard equipment they are in fact magical items. Powerful magical equipment from what little I can see."

 _What a brilliant tactic. No one would take a poorly equipped militia seriously and as a result not expecting such devastating defeat._ Barbro thought. "What sort of enchantments do you see?"

"Nothing, your Highness, at this distance. I will have to be closer to know what kind of enchantments could be used."

"Shirou Emiya must be incredible emotional attachment to equip his hometown's militia with such powerful magical equipment…" Barbro mused. "What is the status of the main force? Are they here yet? How many soldiers do we currently have?"

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	22. Battle of Carne

**Chapter Twenty-Two "Battle of Carne"**

"Hey!" First Prince Barbos of the Re-Estize Kingdom shouted as he stared in disbelief at what he was seeing. "When did this happen?!"

"Your Highness, everyone else is thinking the same thing…"

"I know that!" Barbos growled.

He turned to look at the thing that had been causing both him and others alarm. Carne Village. It was no longer a simple farming village at the frontier of the Kingdom's territory. What he was looking at was a complete abnormality. The wooden walls that had once surrounded Carne Village had disappeared and, in their place, thick and tall stone walls had appeared out of nowhere. Carne Village had become a fortress in a blink of an eye. Something that should be impossible even by the standards of magic that Barbos knew of.

"Felix, what is your explanation!" Barbos turned to his personal magician.

"I can think of two possible explanation your Highness," said Felix. "The first explanation is that there was an illusion that hid the fortifications from our view this entire time. The second explanation is that the fortifications were made just recently with the usage of magic."

Barbos paused at what he heard and tried to recall if anything he had learned about in history had such feats as the ones that he heard. Powerful illusions and the creations of fortification was nothing new. It was something that Barbos had known about. Yet, none had been as wide-scale or potent as the one that he was seeing before him. The only thing that he could recall of a similar feat was not from confirmed history but those of myths.

"Assuming either two feats are the correct explanation, what kind of tier magic are we looking at or how many magicians could have done these feats?" Barbos asked.

"Unfortunately, this is outside my knowledge of expertise. I have some knowledge of combat magic but my main specialty is of healing." Felix, Barbos' personal magician shook his head. "What I can say is that I believe this is likely the work of Shirou Emiya… I have heard many rumors regarding the proficiency of his magic skills. Some claim that he is more powerful than Imperial Court Wizard of the Empire, Fluder Paradyne. Reputable one of the strongest human magicians capable of 6th Tier Magic."

"Sixth Tier?! Is that even possible?!"

"It has to be a lie! No one besides the legendary heroes and monsters are supposed to be capable of such a feat. That is just propaganda sprouted by the Empire to make themselves seem very powerful!"

Barbos remained silent as conversation broke out around him. He didn't know if 5 tier magic and above was possible by humans. It was said to be outside the realm of humanity and those humans that do achieve it were historical figures that left their mark as legendary individuals. The notion that one individual could make fortifications fit for a fortress around a farming village or hiding it seemed very difficult to believe. That was until he factored in who was the one that Carne Village was the hometown of. Shirou Emiya was supposed to be singlehandedly capable of feats that could only be possible by a small army.

"Enough!" Barbos shouted to silence his followers. "There is no point wasting time in mindless speculation. We are wasting precious time. Time that we are giving the defenders to strengthen their defenses further." He looked towards his military commander. "What is the status of my current troops?"

"Your Highness, our troops currently stand at ten thousand. The last of our forces will arrive soon. They are about an hour march away."

Barbos nodded in appreciation at the news. He turned and looked upon Carne Village. It no longer looked like it was just a mere farming village anymore. Carne Village was now a fortress. The defenders no longer seemed like poorly equipped village militia from the last battle. They were now sporting equipment clearly superior of his troops.

He chewed his lips as he thought. He saw several problems if he was to take Carne Village in its current state. There were three components that made the task of capturing Carne Village a difficult task. The defenders. The fortifications. Shirou Emiya.

The defenders were incredible powerful. A reported number of two dozen defenders having defeated a force of a thousand of his soldiers during the last battle about an hour ago. About two hundred had been wounded or killed by two dozen defenders and the remaining three hundred causalities caused by ensuring panic as soldier fled an superhuman enemy. Despite the number of defender being no more than a couple of dozens their lack of numbers easily compensated with the sheer ability of each individual defender. Their superhuman abilities further enhanced by superior training and equipment. It was difficult for Barbos to evaluate how many soldiers each individual defender was worth, but he was going to place each defender being worth fifty men as a rough estimate.

Fortifications were another thorn to Barbos task of taking Carne Village. Barbos was not looking at any mere fortress. This was not something that was normally made within several days, weeks or months. It was a fortress that normally would've taken years to make without the aid of magic. Stone walls that were six meters tall. The thickness of the walls was unknown, Barbos was willingly to bet that they were thick enough to withstand prolonged punishment from siege weapons. Also, the design of the fortress had many defensive features that greatly aided the defenders to the point that defenders may as well have several more times their number when on the defense.

The final and most troublesome problem that Barbos had with any plans of assaulting fortifications and taking Carne Village was Shirou Emiya. Ever since the Empire had declared war on the Kingdom the status and location of Shirou Emiya was known. It was like he had vanished into thin air. If Shirou Emiya or any of his team was within Carne Village than Barbos faced an incredible opponent(s) for each one was an admantite adventurer said to be worth a battalion of soldiers on their own. Even more if Team Chaldea was to work together.

Barbos looked at war table to see how many of his forces were currently available for deployment. Out of the fifty thousand troops that he had set out with his current troop count was about ten thousand. The first attack of a thousand of his soldier had been a disaster. Two dozen defenders out of a couple of dozens managed to repel a thousand. If he was going to have any real chance of taking Carne Village, he needed to deploy several thousand troops.

"Assault Carne at once with all our current forces!" Barbos barked. "Send a message to the rest of my force to quicken their speed and hurry."

\- O -

A steady stream of oil-filled pots impacted on the sides of the wall, followed by flame arrows. The explosive impacts were comparable to the bursting of fireballs, creating bright red flames which gave off endless plumes of black smoke.

"Hold fast! Flames like these can't breach the wall! As for the defense of the gate―" Enri shouted before she was interrupted.

The sound of a heavy impact, _doom_ , came from the outside of the gate. Once more, a great _doom_ came from the gate. It was the sound of siege weapons - most likely battering rams.

"Someone, deal with the battering ram!"

"I am on it!"

Soon there was a series of small explosions where the battering ram had come from. Cries and screams of pain rose from the other side of the wall. The shouting soon gave way to panic and fear as soldiers were sent scrambling to avoid getting hit by fireballs. However, the battering ram did not stop. They must have been using multiple rams in a sequential attack.

"Take cover!"

A hail of arrows from the enemy came down towards Enri. She easily jumped out of the area that arrows had landed. When she got up she saw that not a single arrow had struck herself or her fellow defenders.

"Prepare for close combat! The invaders are scaling the walls!" Enri shouted as like always an attempt to scale the walls by the attacker followed the hail of arrows was shot at the defender. "For Carne!" She shouted as she launched herself into combat with the closest soldier to scale the wall.

"For Carne!" Enri's fellow defenders bellowed as they engaged the invading soldiers.

Enri dodged out of a sword and with agility that surpassed most humans and dispatched a soldier. Soon another soldier died as she slashed his throat before moving onto to several more soldiers. She mowed down soldier after soldier until she stopped when there were no more soldiers to fight.

Looking for more soldiers to fight, she only saw the corpses of dead soldiers or injured enemies that were being finished off by her fellow defenders. Enri saw the attackers seemed to be retreating into the distance as they seemed to be regrouping in preparation for another assault that might happen anytime in the future.

"This is so weird…" Enri muttered as she recovered her breath. "This still feels incredible strange despite having months to getting used to it…"

"Yea, same here…" One fellow defender replied.

"Who knew that Shirou-sama was so skilled. Not only is he a master swordsman, archer and magician but he is also a skilled enchanter and pharmacist."

"Yea, I thought Shirou-sama had been joking when he was going to ascend us to high humans!"

"When was Shirou-sama ever the type to joke around? Has anyone seen him even make a joke once?"

"No, but I heard rumors that he is a complete different person when he is with Arturia-sama."

"That is likely true. Have you seen the look Shirou-sama gives Arturia-sama? It is that of someone in love."

Enri smiled at what she was seeing. Even though they were facing an enemy of overwhelming number her fellow defenders were chatting to each other happily. It was a good sign. Her teacher, Arturia, had taught her in this kind of situation morale was the most important factor over anything else. She hoped that their good morale held until reinforcements from Chaldea or their savior arrived.

The chatter soon came to an end when the defenders heard several things. The sound of battle cries coming from more than several hundreds of voices could be heard from the other side of the wall. Wood hitting against stone as ladders pressed against the walls. Something heavy smashing against the gates. Sound of attackers coming from everywhere.

"It's another assault!" Enri shouted.

"Damn they are everywhere!"

"What a sneaky bastard! Help me over here. Some of them are trying to quietly scale the walls while their allies keep us distracted."

Enri cursed. Quantity was a quality of its own. Despite how strong she and her fellow defenders were, they couldn't be everywhere. There could slaughter a hundred soldiers without a problem but during that time they could be tied down with fighting. Another force of soldiers could bypass them and open the gates. Such a feat would negate the fortifications' ability to limit how much of the enemy force that could be brought to bear against them at once and they could be overwhelmed by sheer number or attacked from exposed flank.

"Fall back to the second line of defenses!" Enri shouted.

"Go, Enri-san. We shall act as the rearguard!"

For a moment, Enri didn't want to move. She wanted to stay behind and help as the defenders were fighting but she had a duty. Arturia had taught her that she was important centerpiece to the defenders. She was the leader. The one that made the decisions and the ability to formulate how to best use her soldiers. If she was to die than her fellow defender would be in disarray from the morale loss of their leader and inability to respond properly as the chain of command had been shattered.

"You better not die on me! You hear me!" Enri shouted as she gave the group of volunteered rearguards at grateful look.

"We are not planning to die here, Enri-san. We have our family and friends to see. Get out of here while we hold them!"

Enri nodded and didn't look back as she ran with her fellow defenders to the second line of defenses. The retreating defenders were nearly there to the safety of the second line of fortifications when they heard horses from behind them. She turned around to see an unexpected sight.

"No way… When did they sneak upon us?" Enri muttered in disbelief.

Over a hundred mounted knights had appeared from behind them. Enri didn't know how the knights had managed to bypass the first line of fortifications, but they had somehow done it. Anger welled inside Enri as it became apparent that a section of the first line of fortification had been managed. That meant some of her fellow defenders had failed and been killed.

"Run! Don't just stand there!" Enri shouted at her fellow defenders that were stunned at the sight of enemy knights.

The defenders quickly snapped out of their daze and ran. The enemy knights were stunned at the sight of the defenders running. It confused them as the superhuman and invincible defenders that had slaughtered so many soldiers had turned tail and ran. The reason was simple, the Carne Village defender had been trained to fight infantry and not cavalry.

Seeing the superhuman and invincible defenders, the knights pulled the reins and kicked the horses to chase after the enemy. The knights released war cries as they thirsted for the blood of their enemies. What none of the knights expected to suddenly find themselves not moving and impaled into wooden stakes that had not been there before.

 _What just happened?_ The impaled knights thought but they didn't have much time to think as the previously fleeing defenders turned back.

Soon the knights that survived being impaled into the wooden stakes tried to free themselves. Many of the knights were unable to and were promptly slaughtered in their helpless states but some were able to free themselves. It didn't matter as their injuries prevented much movement and they too were quickly slaughtered.

"Good work everyone…" Enri gasped out as she recovered her breath.

"Here take this," said Nfirea as he walked out from the second line of fortifications that were not too far away. "Please don't drink the potions in one go. Drink it slowly as you don't wake to be knocked unconscious by physical and mental overlord of your sudden recovery."

"Thanks, Enfi…" Enri said gratefully as she took the stamina recovery potion from her lover's hands and slowly drank it down. "How is everything going?"

"Our current status is…"

\- O -

"…broken through the first line of fortification. We have taken…"

Barbos remained eerily silent as he listened to the battle report. His fists balled up. The casualty loss was unbelievable compared to the causalities inflicted on the enemy. It had taken some twenty-five hundred men to take the first line of fortification. Two thousand and five hundred for thirty-six individuals. Under normal circumstances that would have been a military disaster but not when considering how powerful and dangerous his enemy was.

"Several of the enemy defenders have been captured and we have tried to interrogate. So far they have revealed nothing to that we wanted to know…"

His jaws tightened as his teeth grinded against each other. If anyone was to hear how he was having problems with a several dozen defenders despite having an overwhelming numerical advantage than he would become a laughing stock. The number of causalities that his army was taking just to take out thirty-six defenders would be used to justify how inept he was as a military commander and greatly undermine his claim to Re-Estize Kingdom throne even if he was the firstborn. Barbos needed evidence to prove that it was not his incompetence that was causing what should be an easy victory over a fortress with several dozen defenders when he already had ten thousand troops at his immediate disposal and forty thousand more soon to join him.

"What we wanted know is very little. This very little information included a very baffling claim that the interrogated villagers seem to make is that their claim to have been ascended as high human…"

"What did you just say?!" Barbos demanded as he snapped out of his musing.

"I said 'what we wanted to know'…"

"I mean after that!" Barbos shouted in agitated tone. "You said something about high humans correct?"

"That is correct, your Highness…"

 _That must be it! The reason to explain why the defenders were so capable of fighting off my soldiers! Now I cannot be treated as laughing stock. All I need to find evidence that I was fighting high humans, and no one will be able to accuse me as an incompetent military commander._ Barbos thought eagerly as a smile grew on his face. "Felix, please enlighten me to what a high human is. I don't want the myths, but the known facts."

"Ahem…" Felix, Barbos' personal magician, cleared his throat. "High Humans were a branch of our species that went extinct two centuries ago as they were hunted to extinction by the Evil Deities. The Evil Deities supposedly hunted down high humans as they were the greatest threat to the Evil Deities."

"Tell us about what the high humans were capable of…" Barbos gestured at his personal magician.

"High humans are said to be vastly superior mentally and physically to us, humans, that they were seen as superhumans…"

"High Humans are extinct! Are you telling us that not only are they not extinct but that we are fighting high humans!" A noble shouted in outrage as he stood up and pointing accusingly at Barbos' personal wizard.

"Impossible! The information we have that the tax collectors had gathered on Carne Village never anything about high humans. Carne Village was supposed to be like any farming village at the frontier."

"Clearly the tax collectors have been lied to or bribed if what we are fighting is anything to go by."

"We must execute the tax collector! He is a traitor for hiding this kind of information from us."

"Indeed, a traitor that is aiding the enemy!"

The conversation within the war council soon strayed from the original conversation. Barbos didn't rein in the conversations that were forming around him as he listened to what his supporters thought and got a better grasp on their personalities. It was only when he believed that he had gathered the information he was looking for and tired from listening to nonsense that he stepped in.

"Enough!" Barbos roared and the war council soon became silent. "I believe that we are dealing with a village that is home to high humans. How this was hidden from us or any other question relating to the matter is irrelevant to our situation! What we need to focus on is Carne Village." He looked around at his war council. "Please continue on what we know and believe about the defenders."

"As I was saying… the interrogated defenders have made claims that they are high humans and equipped with magic items."

The war council remained silent as they digested that information.

Barbos' mind raced to analyze the information and figure out how to best use it. He frowned in displeasure as the enemy that he was fighting became even more dangerous. Each high human was supposed to be naturally blessed with the strength, speed and endurance ten times of their regular lesser cousins, regular humans. It didn't just stop there. Each high human was supposed to possess the mental capacity of what would be considered a prodigy of normal human standards. If it was just high humans equipped with regular non-magical equipment than he would less agitated at what he was facing. Factoring in the fact that he was facing not just high humans but also being equipped with magic items made the enemy several more times more dangerous than he had initially assumed the defenders would be.

"It has been nearly two hours since the battle started and with ten thousand soldiers we have only managed to seize control of the first layer of fortification at the cost twenty-five hundred soldiers," said Barbos as he looked at his war council. "I believe it is safe to say that we should deploy the rest of our forces. Does anyone disagree with my assessment?"

None of the war council seemed to disagree. Barbos bet things would have gone differently if they hadn't heard the news of high humans or that the fact the enemy using magic items had been confirmed.

"So be it! I, First Prince Barbos of the Re-Estize Kingdom, order that the entire force of fifty thousand soldiers are to assault Carne Village at once!"

\- O -

"How are we supposed to fight that?!" One of the defenders shouted in disbelief as she pointed at the seemingly unending wave of soldiers that were heading towards them.

"Where is Shirou-sama?! We need him right now!"

"Forget our savior for now. Where is our reinforcements?! Chaldea shouldn't be taking this long to send us reinforcements!"

"Are we being left here to die?! Chaldea is a place that is impossible to reach unless someone can teleport."

Enri became incredible afraid as she watched her fellow defenders losing the seemingly unshakeable morale that they had been showing before. Morale was soon hitting rock bottom as her fellow defender lost their will to fight and some even considering abandoning the fight. She had tried to call upon the "charisma" that her teacher, Arturia, had said she had possessed. Yet, any attempts to calm her people or rally them had failed.

"Should I use it?" Enri wondered as she pulled out a horn from her pocket.

The horn was supposed to be something special. It was given to by her savior, Shirou Emiya, after Arturia had decided to take her as an apprentice officer. Supposed it was going to be her something to be used in her greatest time of need. She didn't know if it would truly work but she definitely found herself in her most dire situation of her life. Enri didn't have time to wonder if the horn would truly work. She placed the horn to her lips.

 _Please work! Help me get out of this situation alive!_ Enri wished as she blew the horn.

What rang out was a _basso profundo_ note that made the very land tremble.

"En-Enri…" Nfirea spoke in a panicked tone.

Enri realized that the panicked Nfirea was not looking at her, but beyond and behind her. She followed Nfirea's line of sight and turned her face. She found the seemingly never-ending army that had been charging at them stop. The charging army looked so shocked that they simple stopped moving. That didn't mean the army just stopped. The soldiers and knights behind them smashed into their comrades in front. As a result, soldiers were trampled over and crushed by humans and horses alike as the army came to a stop.

"Eh?" Enri blurted out in confusion as she finally got to see what was shocking everyone. "EH?! WHAT IS THIS?!"

Enri and Nfirea could only stare in disbelief at what seemed like a thousand soldiers appearing out of nowhere. It was not the fact that a thousand people had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The thing that caught their eyes the most was how fast the small army seemed. They moved so fast that it was like they were staring at only afterimages left in the wake of the army. Only the imprinting of feet on the ground as evidence that Enri's and Nfirea's eyes were not looking at an imaginary army.

"FOR SHIROU EMIYA!" Hundreds of voices roared as they smashed into the Re-Estize Kingdom Royal Army. The roaring continued as the sound of metal clashing against rang. Soon the sound of agonizing screams and confused shouting followed. It was the sound of people fighting. People being injured and dying.

Enri and Nfirea stared at the where the sounds were coming what they found was to be a witness of an unbelievable scene. It was not the scene of proper fight. What they were seeing was completely different from what they had been part of not too long ago as they fought the soldiers and knights. A fight would be wrong to describe what was happening. Slaughter. That was what was happening. The newly appeared army was completely and utterly annihilating soldiers and knights like they were nothing. Tens. Hundreds. Thousands. It didn't seem to matter. An unstoppable force that nothing seemed to stand in the way.

It was a bloodbath. Parts of weapons, armor, flesh and bone were sent flying into the air. It was not just limited to parts. Entire whole sections of humans and horses were too. Anything imaginable that was once made up equipment or living beings shot in every direction that was the battlefield.

 _What did I unleash…?_ Enri thought in horror as she felt bile coming up.

\- O -

"My Prince! Please allow the men to fall back!"

He glared angrily at the knight addressing him. It was obvious what he should do. Rationally speaking, they ought to fall back now. However, running away was also not an option. Defeat was not an option for him. If he was to retreat than he was as good as died. Barbos would not only shame himself but his family and his supporters. The shame would be so devastating that he would likely be disowned and abandoned. Something that he would result in him losing the protection that had kept him alive from his enemies.

"...Denied. Keep fighting." Barbos growled.

"Your Highness! Please reconsider! Our side is largely composed of peasant conscripts; our chances of victory are slim. I beg you to order a retreat!"

Barbro knew that as well. He knew that his forces were losing. Badly and the chance of victory seemed far away. The military training that he had received taught him that retreat, and regrouping would be the best option in this current situation. Yet if he didn't die on the battlefield than he was only delaying his inevitable death to poison or any means of assassination with the protection that he currently enjoyed were to be stripped away from him.

"You fool! We must defeat the defenders. If we do not than do you want them to join the Empire? Imagine the enemy fighting alongside the Empire's legions! That would be the end of the Kingdom as we know it!"

"Un-understood."

Soon Barbos saw the knight disappear into the distance to relay his message to the rest of his army. He didn't bother to continue watching the messenger disappear. Instead he turned to continue watching the fight between his army and the enemy army that had seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Barbos growled as much as he wanted to deny what he was seeing that it was an absolute nightmare that he was dealing with. His army of fifty thousand was being decimated. Already a tenth had either been killed or forced to flee at the unstoppable tide. An unstoppable tide of new enemies that was made up approximately a thousand from what he could see. He needed to figure out something immediately or his forces were going to be defeated.

 _Dammit! I had to face an enemy of what is incredibly likely a small army of high humans!_ Barbos thought as he wanted to explode in rage but his need to keep a calm mind prevented him. _How were the high humans driven to their supposed extinction again?!_

Barbos was clawing his mind to think of how the high humans had been driven to extinction by the Evil Deities. Before he had to think of a brilliant strategy to deal with the enemy army that was decimating his army, they disengaged and retreated.

"Why are they retreating?"

"Be careful they might have something up their sleeve!"

"Get ready everyone for anything!"

 _Whatever they are doing this is an opportunity that we have to seize,_ Barbos thought. "Men form up!"

Soldiers formed up into ranks before Barbro. Barbro's forces had adopted a crane wing formation instead. They had not used the fish-scale formation because they wanted to make effective use of their powerful cavalry, and the enemy formation was poor at handling flanking attacks.

In the distance, the nature of the enemy army confused him. Barbos found that there seemed to be any standardized system applying into their equipment and formation. They were all equipped different from one another that not a single individual was the same. Their formation was loose and not very well organized. Instead of a proper military force that was well trained, equipped and disciplined he got the that he was facing a large number of mercenaries. He didn't know what to do exactly as he was not fighting against any enemy that he had any training or experience to fight.

"Your Highness, it is best not to think the enemy as what you have fought before like bandits or proper soldiers," said Felix, Barbos' personal magician. "Think that you are fighting adventurers."

"Oh…" Barbos muttered as he had been enlightened. "Now that you mention it… I can see it. The reason for the once seemingly irrational logic to why the used certain tactics… Thank you, Felix for telling me. Now I can finally make some proper plans to fight this new enemy…"

Barbos turned to look at the enemy in a new light. The information that Felix had provided allowed him to see what he had passed before. Adventurers didn't normally fight in large groups. They operated were small teams. Each individual specialist in a specific role. This would mean that they would organize and operate in small units anyway from three to ten individuals. Each team could operate independently from the other with a very loose strategy and chain of command.

A wall of great pressure bore down Barbos. The hand holding the reins of his horse were slippery with sweat under his gauntlets. He couldn't just forget something incredible important. Despite getting a greater grasp of the nature of the enemy that he was fighting, it was still felt like there unassailable obstacle in the way. That he was fighting superhuman high humans and that they were seemed to be equipped with magic items.

"Your Highness, you must not hesitate," said Felix in a firm and reassuring tone. "You are the First Prince of the Kingdom. You cannot show any fear or doubt. As a leader, your subordinates look up to you as an example. Give the order. They shall be carried out."

"You are right, Felix…" Barbos took a deep breath as he prepared to give out the orders that would decide the battle. "Here are my orders…"

Messengers were soon dispatched to relay Barbos' commands to the entirety of his army. Soon the orders were known to the entire army and they moved to enact them.

The Royal Army of the Re-Estize Kingdom brought their greater number of 43000 soldiers to bear down on the high human army. When the spear-wielding conscripts made contact with the high human infantry, they attacked like a wave would. Some of the conscripts would smash against the high humans while others would wash areas that the high humans didn't hold until they encircled the high human army.

The conscripts clashed with the high humans with devastating consequence. Hundreds of conscripts were wounded or killed within seconds, but it was a futile task to resist. Just as an ocean wave would wash through any obstruction that someone might make to protect their sandcastle on the beach. For every conscript killed, ten more seemed to take the wounded or killed conscripts place.

"Good, this is good," said Barbos in pleased manner as he looked at his army slowly grinding the high humans through sheer numbers. "It might take several thousand conscripts, but we will win as the high humans have no way to escape."

And then, something happened that Barbos had not expected.

There was a bright light appearing into the distance. Barbos was blinded despite being hundreds of meters away. He closed his eyes and even than the light was so bright that he had use his arms to cover his closed eyes. After the light subsided a bit was Barbos able to finally see what he was looking at.

"Impossible…" Felix said in a very quiet tone then he spoke words so quiet that Barbos couldn't hear his personal magician anymore.

"What is the problem?" Barbos asked in concern as he saw a frightened looking Felix.

"We need to retreat right now!" Felix turned to his liege. "If we don't there is…!"

"Calm down!" Barbos shouted as he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezed. "Slow down and tell me what is the…"

"By the orders of Shirou Emiya, we have arrived." Several voices shouted, and their voices echoed through the entire battlefield.

Barbos' mouth dropped open as he finally understood what Felix been so afraid of. He recalled memories of asking Felix about several questions to satisfy his idle curiosity. One question that he had asked had been about something that had happened in myths quiet often. The hero or villain being able to travel vast distance with the use of teleportation magic. Felix had replied that teleportation was something only of myth for it was 6th Tier magic and above, magic that was beyond the realm of humanity and those of legend.

"Taste the wrath of the Chaldea Heavy Infantry!"

Hundreds of warriors – Barbos estimated at nearly three thousand at best – charged at his army. This group of warriors were even more devastating than the first group that had decimated a tenth of Barbos' army. Barbos couldn't even compare the two as it was akin to comparing a dagger with a sword. Anything caught in their path was simply thrown aside in pieces as the Chaldea heavy infantry smashed deeply into his army and break apart their formation.

"Try escaping us, the Chaldea Light Infantry!

This group of high humans were more numerous than their more heavily armed and armored brethren. As a result of their lightly equipped nature, their movements were so fast that they seemed like shot arrows. The collapsing and breaking formation of Barbos' army were quickly encircled and harassed constantly to prevent any attempt to regroup and reorganize.

"Witness your doom by the hands of the Chaldea Magic!"

Magic. Just about every kind of magic that Barbos could imagine being used on the battlefield rained down upon Barbos army. The most numerous being elemental magic such as fire, water, earth and wind alongside more rarer forms of elemental magic. Even exotic magic that used things like light and darkness was used. Devastating magic that Barbos hadn't even heard of or known were used. Whatever magic was being used they were utterly devastating. Many times, there were not even anything remaining of his soldiers left after being struck by magic. Entire sections and formation ceased to exist from the devastation barrage of magic.

"None shall stand before us, the Chaldea Riders!"

From just about every direction came a horde of magical beasts – from gigantic version of common animals to rare magical animals – mounted on them were the high human controlling their mounts with skills that Barbos could scarcely believe. What made Barbos' jaw drop and look in disbelief was the appearance of incredible powerful and rare magical monsters that he thought was untamable or tamed only in small numbers like hippogriffs and pegasi. His eyes blinked refusing to believe what he was seeing when he saw wyvern, the smaller and weaker cousins of dragons. The magical beasts with their skilled riders causing havoc by running deep into his army's formations and bringing their power to bear.

The combination of infantry, magic and magical creatures was too much. Conscripts and professional soldiers alike were torn apart. Any attempts to reorganize broken with the destruction of the chain of command or the annihilation of the entire unit. Morale soon hit rock-bottom that none even tried to fight and flee. Barbos' forces lost any rational thought and did whatever they could to escape the battle even if it meant hurting or killing their allies. Those that tried to retreat were either destroyed before they could even try and if a miracle they were able to retreat then they were torn while trying to escape the battle.

"Your Highness!" Felix shouted, snapping Barbos out of his shocked state. "We can't hold them! It's only a matter of time before the enemy reaches us! We need to retreat!"

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	23. Surrender

**Chapter Twenty-Three "Surrender"**

The plains were brightly lit by the moon, and in their midst was a military field camp. No, it couldn't be called a field camp. A military field camp was supposed to be something temporary but still contain the bare essential such as a place for soldiers to sleep for the night. There were no tents or even any sign of fortification to protect the soldiers from an enemy attack. It would be more accurate to say that there was a military unit on the grass.

Soldiers were lying on the ground, immobile from fatigue. The winter air was cold enough to dye their exhaled breath white, but the fact that they could sleep in conditions like these without bedrolls or the like was a sign of how tired they really were.

Amidst all these people, who had collapsed like puppets whose strings had been cut, one man was walking. He was the general of the defeated army, Barbro.

"Dammit, how did this happen?! What is the point of being alive if I am only delaying the inevitable?!" Barbos growled.

Barbos surveyed what little of his army survived. He found it hard to believe his army of fifty-thousand soldiers had been annihilated. Yes, a great deal of his army had been made of conscripted commoners that had little combat training but still fifty thousand soldiers. Part of the fifty thousand soldiers being professional soldiers that had trained for years.

"It seems, High Humans truly live up to their mythical status… No wonder the Evil Deities wiped them out if they were this powerful and a threat to their reign…" Barbos muttered.

His worries about his army and defeat disappeared as a notion that he hadn't thought of before came to the forefront of his mind. Carne was supposed to be an ordinary village like so many on the frontier of the Re-Estize Kingdom's borders. It was supposed to be a farming village with very little importance. How the Kingdom had missed that there was a village full of High Humans was baffling. Barbos' thoughts became even more distraught when he reminded himself it was not just a village that had escaped the notice of the Kingdom. An entire army of High Humans – a potential enemy force of incredible destructive power – dwelled within the Kingdom's borders. An army that had hidden for who knows how long to finally show themselves and bring their might against the Kingdom.

He needed figure out the mystery of the High Humans.

Several possibilities run through the First Prince's mind. The most concrete theory he had about the High Humans lived in the nearby forest known as the Great Forest of Tob. The dense woodland (located at the southern borders of Re-Estize Kingdom) considered by many too dangerous to dangerous that only adventurers and explorers dare tread at great risk. To Barbos, the Great Forest of Tob seemed like an ideal place to have a place or population center if certain assumptions were accepted. That the inhabitants had the knowledge or some sort of method to safely transverse the Great Forest of Tob despite the forest infamous reputation.

"The assumption that the Great Forest of Tob could be a secret home to the High Humans actually makes senses," said Barbos as he rubbed his beard. "The Great Forest of Tob is supposed to be filled with monsters that make it unsuitable for humans to live, but High Humans are physically and mentally superior to regular humans. It wouldn't be within the realm of impossibility that they lived in the Great Forest of Tob. They could also be the ones responsible of the Great Forest of Tob's infamous reputation to protect the secret that they lived there."

Barbos stopped thinking when he felt a presence. It did not come from the men lying on the ground, but from the direction they had fled from. He shifted his line of sight and he became puzzled by what he saw.

"Who are you?! Identify yourself!" Barbos shouted as his hand reached for his weapon.

Not far away ─ 20 meters at the most ─ stood a ravishing beauty. A beautiful blonde-haired and emerald eyed woman. What made her stand out the most was not her beauty as Barbos had seen many more beautiful women in the past. It was her strange appearance and the manner she carried herself that made the woman different from any he had seen before. She carried herself in a manner similar to himself. The regal standing of royalty, but she was also different from him as she reminded her more of his far wiser father. Yet, Barbos doubted even his father in his prime could carry the same amount of charisma and power as the woman did.

"Hello," said the beauty. "My name is Arturia Pendragon. I come to discuss the terms of your surrender."

"Surrender?!" Barbos shouted in surprise. "Why would you demand…?"

"I am a representative of the forces that fought your army." Arturia replied.

He reached for the sword at his waist. It was an instinct drilled into him before he let go of his sword. There was no point in drawing his sword. Barbos was facing a High Human and from the amount of power that the woman projected, and her equipment showed that he was out of his league. There was no way that he was going to be able to defeat a physically and mentally superior opponent. Not when he had seen firsthand how dangerous a high human was.

 _It seems that I have taken the right choice…_ Barbos noted as he saw that his personal guards and the surrounding soldiers had been all taken out by means unknown to him.

"You do not have to worry about the lives those around you. They have been knocked out unconscious by sleeping magic." Arturia spoke.

Barbos shivered as how casually the act of his soldiers being knocked unconscious was treated. It was like they were bugs that were no way in a threat but they had been eliminated because they a nuisance. A show of how powerful and confident his enemy was to simply explain what they had done to him.

"What… do you want?" Barbos asked politely.

"First Prince of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Barbro Andrean Ield Ryle Vaiself," said Arturia in a respectful tone as she addressed Barbos by formal manner. "I am here to negotiate the surrender of your forces."

"Surrender…?" Barbos said in disbelief. "What point is there in surrendering when you have won? My army has been annihilated and regrouping would impossible as the morale shattering defeat that they suffered."

"You might be wrong," said Arturia. "I have seen and heard many things. Rallying your forces doesn't seem an impossible task as you imply. I know through personal experience because I have done it many times…"

The First Prince of the Kingdom didn't doubt the words he heard from Arturia. They seemed genuine and not a hint of boasting. Something told him that the women before him was underselling herself greatly. She reminded him of his father during his prime, maybe even surpass his father.

"I wish for your surrender so that further bloodshed could be stopped," Arturia continued. "Tell your men to throw their weapons away and give themselves up. I swear on my honor as a knight and king that they will be treated fairly as prisoners of war."

"All of them? Not just the nobles?" Barbos raised a brow.

"Yes, not just nobility, but also the commoners." Arturia replied. "What is your response?"

"I would like to know a bit more of my enemy before I think about doing anything," said Barbos.

"You do understand the more time you waste means more of your men will be hunted down and killed…" Arturia spoke in a very displeased tone. She shook her head and sighed. "I will answer your questions to the best of my ability."

"Are you really High Humans? The supposed extinct cousins of ours?" Barbos inquired.

"What do you…?" Arturia frowned before she stopped speaking as if heard a voice. "What did he mean by that…? Oh…? Is that the situation…? Thank you… I understand." She spoke to someone that Barbos couldn't see. Arturia turned her attention to Barbos and said, "You are correct. I am a High Human alongside all the soldiers that your forces fought. Do you have any other questions?"

"What is the nation or group that you and your forces belong to? Who is your leader?" Barbos asked.

"I and my forces answer to the Chaldea Order. Our leader is someone that you have probably heard of. He is Shirou Emiya."

 _Just as I thought…_ _This makes it both easier and difficult going forward…_ Barbos thought. He turned his attention to Arturia and asked. "Why have you and your group hidden yourself all this time? Why rebel of a sudden? Do you not respect and recognize the sovereignty of the Re-Estize Kingdom? The nation that your people are wrongfully living upon."

"First of, no one owns Carne or the Great Forest of Tob. Three separate nations make similar claims, which are the Slane Theocracy, the Baharuth Empire and your own nation. None have done anything besides make claims. No one has established military outposts/bases or population centers to reinforce said claims." Arturia corrected. "Second, the Chaldea Order refuses to acknowledge claims to our territory!"

Barbos fell silent as he analyzed what he had learned so far. The more he thought about what he learned the more disturbed and alarmed he became. He shivered at the very thought that not just his country, but the Theocracy and Empire had remained ignorant of the Chaldea Order. The Chaldea Order was not an organization, but a nation in Barbos' mind. A secret nation that had remained hidden until now. How old or powerful the Chaldea Order was unknown, but Barbos had seen part of the Chaldea's Order's military and economic power. His army of fifty thousand had been annihilated by force several times smaller (no more than five thousand at best), and Barbos doubted that the force that his army had been destroyed by was all of Chaldea's military might.

"I cannot make such a hefty decision such as surrendering so quickly," said Barbos. "I must consult with my officers and advisers before I make such an enormous decision."

"I understand," Arturia nodded. "I will give you a day to decide."

"Thank you," said Barbos gratefully. "You would kindly lift the sleeping magic that has placed on my soldiers. I cannot get the advice of my subordinates if they are all unconscious…"

\- O -

"…So, this is the situation," said Barbos as he finished his explanation to the remaining surviving of his commanders and advisors.

"We cannot surrender! To do so will make us a laughing stock!"

"How can you worry about your reputation right now?! There is no point in worrying about our reputation if we are dead!"

"Squis is right! Who cares about our reputation. As lords we should be concerned about the lives of our men!"

"You are one of those nobles?! Commoners are not nothing. They are tools for us nobles. It is their duty to serve their lords whatever way they can."

"Even if they are tools, wasting what tools you have is foolish thing to do! How are you supposed to govern or maintain our livelihood if all you are left with is are useless tools?!"

"Not this again…" Barbos groaned as he saw many of his commanders and advisors get into useless conversation that held no relevance with the situation at hand. "I need to get more level-headed and rational subordinates after this…"

"Not everyone are fools like the ones that are wasting their time on irrelevant matters," said one of Barbos' subordinates that didn't seem to be irrational as their fellow nobles.

"Some of us understand the situation that we are facing."

"I wish our ranks were larger. My Prince, I suggest after your purge that you introduce something similar to the meritocracy system that the Empire uses to produce such competent military commanders."

"I will take your advice to heart," Barbos nodded gratefully. "Felix…"

"Yes, my Prince?" Felix replied as he walked to Barbos' side. "What do you require of me?"

"You are the most knowledgeable about the threat that we face given your background as a former adventurer," said Barbos. "What is your assessment and advise on how to proceed?"

"I suggest that we treat the enemy, 'Chaldea', as we would the Slane Theocracy. We are facing a very small military, but well trained and equipped one. Better than any military unit that either the Kingdom or the Empire fields." Felix replied.

"What?!" The formerly arguing nobles that had been distracted before shouted collectively in disbelief at what they heard as Felix's words cut any discussion they had like hot knife through butter.

"Silence!" Barbos shouted as he shut down any further interference. He turned back to Felix and said, "Continue with your assessment."

"Chaldea plays heavily emphasis on small unit tactics with many different specialist military units to provide abilities that regular soldiers do not have. We see this in the form dedicated units filled with mages, summoners and monster tamers/riders. As a result, we are facing a military that the Kingdom is unsuited to fight as we are neither trained and equipped to deal with such a foe." Felix continued. "I suggest that we either surrender or retreat even if it means the loss of more units."

"Damn…" Barbos cursed. _I had been so foolish like so many nobles when the issue of fighting the Slane Theocracy was brought up! If only we had established a token force designed to fight against the Slane Theocracy or researched methods in fighting them that we wouldn't be in such a dire situation. I am going to take the suggestion of any threat to the Kingdom more seriously if I make it out of this._

"Your Highness?" Several voices asked in concern and Barbos snapped out of his musing as he remembered where he was.

"If we decide to continue fighting despite our perilous situation, do we have any hope of victory?" Barbos half asked and pleaded for a miracle.

"We might be able to win a few skirmishes here and there but not a drawn-out battle with large number of combatants." Felix shook his head. "As I said before, our forces are ill-equipped and trained to handle the foe we face."

There was an eerie silence as people took in Felix's words. The silence continued as no one knew what to do, or if they did they didn't want to take the first step to suggest anything. Everyone turned their eyes to Barbos expecting him to lead. He didn't want to take the task that everyone was trying to delegate to him, but he saw no one else willingly to step up.

"Thank you, Felix for your words," said Barbos as he composed his thoughts. "We have plenty of time to discuss what to do later. I would like to discuss what we have learned have upon the Kingdom. What are everyone's thoughts regarding Chaldea?"

"I suggest we take the path of appeasement."

"Appeasement?! Are you out of your mind? That is outright admitting defeat and opening ourselves to further exploitation as Chaldea will become emboldened with our perceived weakness."

"What do you suggest?! Our army of fifty thousand might be a fraction of our military might, but it was a large part. We also haven't taken into account that the army that we faced might, but a small fraction of what Chaldea is capable of fielding."

The room became silent at said suggestion. A cold shudder ran through their bodies as they realized that what had been said was likely true. Something that made them incredible uncomfortable with and wonder about what they truly faced. Only fear was what they felt and that fear became stronger as they had no idea what kind of threat that truly faced given how little they knew about Chaldea.

"I dislike the notion of appeasement, but I believe it is our only choice," said Barbos. Many of the room protested his decision and tried to speak up when he gestured for silence. "I am not saying that we should capitulate into every demand that Chaldea might have. Only what is absolutely necessary to prevent further conflict while we gather our strength."

"You think the rest of our standing 200,000 army in E-Rantel is not enough to face Chaldea?"

"Consider how large the Great Forest of Tob is gentlemen," said Felix as he rushed to the aid of his friend/superior. "It a dense and vast woodland that covers that the area between the Kingdom and the Empire. An area that so large and hostile separates the territories between the Kingdom and Empire as a natural buffer zone. If a nation exists within the Great Forest of Tob than they must be very powerful militarily if they can survive dense and large woodland infested with monsters. I don't think it is outside the realm of possibility that the current 200,000 strong Kingdom army at E-Rantel might not have the strength with a military that constantly deals with monsters on a daily basis…"

The collective threat assessment that the room regarding Chaldea went from incredible dangerous to possibly outside the ability of the Kingdom to deal with. There were many monsters within the Great Forest of Tob that could be dealt with very easily. It was why adventurers and explorers often risked their lives to venture into the Great Forest of Tob. A completely different arose when groups larger than a small team tried to enter the Great Forest of Tob. The monsters would seemingly unite to fight against a common threat. Both the Kingdom and Empire had tried for centuries to establish villages and towns near or within the Great Forest of Tob. Every attempt had ended in failure as every military expedition disappeared and destroyed or it was not viable in terms of manpower and resources invested with such little returns.

The notion that a nation or group could not only survive and thrive within the Great Forest of Tob was a terrifying thought. It spoke with just the sheer amount of military competence needed to constantly fight monsters that were often far superior to humans.

"Anyone that disagree with my opinion? That we should take a path of appeasement while we gather the strength and the means to defeat Chaldea." Barbos asked as he looked around the room. He saw no one that seemed to disagree with him. "If everyone agrees than this is what I suggest. I hope everyone adds their thoughts to point out flaws or make amendments of my proposal that I wish to give to my father, the King…"

\- O -

 _Good work, Arturia,_ said Shirou over the telepathic link that he shared with Arturia.

 _Why did you set free the Re-Estize Kingdom's forces after they surrendered?_ Arturia asked in a concerned tone. _I still strongly advise against that decision that you have made regarding not pursuing and eliminating any surviving units of the Barbos' army._ _You are allowing the enemy to gain access to information on our abilities by allowing them to escape. Something that should be afforded as it will give time for the enemy to analyze our abilities and formulate methods to reduce the effectiveness or outright eliminate our military advantage._

 _Prince Barbos and everyone in his army signed a magic contract. I have special conditions written into the magic contract that I can use in the future._ Shirou replied. _Besides…Fighting a desperate enemy is a difficult thing. They will often use tactics and strategies that no one expects. That makes them both difficult to predict and counter. Also, an enemy that has nothing to lose will fight to the very last and that will result in unnecessary causalities to our forces that could be avoided._

 _Shirou…_ Arturia projected the feeling of annoyance through her mind with Shirou. _Who is the one with real experience leading an army? I might not be as accomplished as the likes of Alexander the Great, Hannibal and many other great military commanders, but I still very capable. After all, my legend as King Arthur didn't just come from my abilities as a knight, but also my ability as a military commander._

Shirou had to agree that Arturia's words had merit. She was more experienced and as she said an accomplished military commander that cemented her legend as King Arthur. Yet, there were several things that Arturia didn't know. She didn't have the knowledge that he had. Arturia was limited only to her own experience or the knowledge of tactics and strategies of her time. He had a wealth of military knowledge relating to tactics and strategies that Arturia didn't know of. He had access to the entire breath of known military history of Earth reaching from the dawn of recorded human civilization to the 22nd century in the form of Chaldea's libraries.

 _Arturia… I am using psychological warfare to sow fear amongst any that think of opposing us._ _To make the enemy rethink of ever fighting us and if they do that it will be incredibly costly to them._ Shirou replied. _How would you react if you were to hear that an army of fifty thousand was annihilated by a smaller force of five thousand? I would be terrified if I was the enemy. I would reconsider fighting against Chaldea as if an army that defeated ten times larger would be a horrifying enemy to face on the battlefield._

 _You are planning to use the deployable tactics that Genghis Khan and the Mongols was known for?_ Arturia asked with a slightly disproving tone.

 _If it means that less casualties of my military and loss of resources, then I am more than happy to use terror and psychological warfare to my advantage._ Shirou nodded. _Do you not agree? I believe that you have done something similar in the past as your time as King Arthur._

 _I can understand your logic and have also been forced to do many despicable things in the name of my people…_ Arturia grudgingly agreed. _That doesn't mean I agree to what you're doing._

 _Noted,_ said Shirou. _Arturia can you handle the rest? I need to focus on matters at home._

 _I am more than capable of handling the situation going on outside of Chaldea._ Arturia nodded. _If I need help than I will ask for it._

 _Thanks,_ said Shirou. _Good luck with your work._

 _The same to you, Shirou,_ Arturia replied before she broke the telepathic connection that she had with Shirou.

"You can come in!" Shirou called out as he sensed a presence outside his room.

"Greetings, Shirou-sama," said Enri as she entered the room. "You called for me?"

"Yes, I did," Shirou nodded his head. "How is it? Do you think that capable of the task that Arturia chose you for?"

"I am honored that Arturia-sama has chosen me as her protégée." Enri bowed in gratitude. "Yet, I am unsure if I am suited to the role as a military commander. So many died because I was not capable of formulating better plans."

Shirou resisted the urge to mention that no one had really died. All of the "deaths" that Enri mentioned was temporary. No more than fifty-some of Carne's militia had killed. None of them were dead anymore as they had been resurrected. So, Shirou found it hard to sympathize with Enri. That was until Shirou shivered as he recalled that the people that he had resurrected were often mentally traumatized by the experience of death.

"Arturia saw great potential in you and I trust her judgement," said Shirou with confidence. "Besides, you have done an excellent job. You managed to hold against an enemy that outnumbered by several thousand times for so long without being eliminated. That was a miracle and a testament of your skills."

"Thank you, Shirou-sama. I am honored that you regard my skills so highly," said Enri as she bowed. "I would like to ask, what happened here in Chaldea to prevent help immediately to Carne?"

Shirou resisted the urge chew his lips or show any sign that he was uncomfortable with answering the question. There was no way in hell that he could tell the truth. It would be so easy for others to misunderstand his intentions and take him for a ruthless and careless individual. He needed to think of something.

"There was an unexpected situation with Chaldea's teleportation system. Any attempts to teleport in or out became very dangerous that any attempts to use the teleportation magic could have resulted in the injury or death." Shirou replied. "As much as I wanted to help immediately to your aid, I couldn't let people use a teleportation magic that was likely going to result in their deaths. Thus, the situation where you received no help from Chaldea."

"The teleportation system that you created can malfunction or fail?" Enri asked with widened eyes of disbelief.

 _Good,_ Shirou thought as he saw that his lie can worked, and he had also created a situation that he had absolutely wanted. So many of his followers had come to regard him as a deity. A being that was infallible and always right. This situation would perfectly in getting his constantly ignored messages that he was just as capable of failure just as any human despite his immense powers.

"Is that even possible?" Enri muttered, but Shirou's sharp hearing picked up her words as if she had said it loudly to him.

"As I have said in the past, I am powerful and very capable of many things, but I am no god. Take the situation where Chaldea's teleportation system malfunctioning as evidence of that." Shirou replied. Enri nodded her head. "Now, Enri… I wanted to ask you. How do you feel after using the Horn of the High Human General? Do you feel any different? Anything that I should know of?"

"I am terrified," Enri admitted. Shirou raised a curious brow and gestured at her to continue. "I am terrified the amount of power that I now wield. The soldiers… They are so powerful…" She shuddered. "I am scared of what I might be able to do with the army that had appeared out of nowhere after I blew the horn."

Shirou leaned over onto his left hand and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The Horn of the Human High Human had far surpassed what he had thought about the YGGDRASIL item. It was another reminder that his ability to comprehend the abilities and history of YGGDRASIL items were not as flawless as he had expected. He had not expected an entire army of five thousand Lvl 40s High Humans soldiers. What he had thought at best had been something along the lines of hundred Lvl 20 High Humans.

Another thing that he hadn't been expecting was how the Horn of the High Human would work in the New World. In YGGDRASIL, summons of items like the Horn of the High Human General were controlled in a manner similar to pet where it needs to be told what to do and if you wanted them to complex things that complex commands must be given. That had not been the case with Enri. She had provided little to no orders to the army that she had summoned and they had seemingly reacted her thoughts and emotions to carry out complex military maneuvers without any of her input.

Shirou's musing ceased as he realized that Enri was staring at him. As if she was waiting a response from him.

"There is nothing wrong with you in feeling horror. If you didn't than I would be incredible concerned as that is a sign of someone that is power-hungry." Shirou replied with warming smile. "The fact that you're afraid at the complications of the power that you now wield is a good sign."

"Is that so…" Enri sighed in relief. "There is something that I forgot to mention. Something that I feel that you must know. The soldiers that I had… summoned. They… are incredible loyal to me. I have heard from them that they will be to the ends of the earth and will carry out any orders that I give. Even if that means to rebel against you, Shirou-sama."

That information concerned Shirou. If he was still in YGGDRASIL than he wouldn't be worried. A hundred Lvl 40s or any number of more wasn't a threat to him. His passive skills of his character/body would make any attacks from Level 50's and below unable to even scratch on his body or reduce his HP by even a single digit. The physical laws that governed the New World was a combination of game physics of the YGGDRASIL and physical laws of Earth. An attack from anyone or think had the ability to injury him and if thousands of people tried to kill him than it was quite possible that he could die.

The soldiers were a threat to him if they turned on him, but Shirou didn't have to worry about that. They seemed to answer only to Enri from what she had said. He doubted that Enri would ever betray him in the current circumstance as she was just to loyal to him for his act of saving her sister and resurrecting her killed family.

"Thank you for letting me know about this," said Shirou in grateful tone. "Although, I am not that concerned about the soldiers as long as they answer to you."

"That is relieving to hear… Shirou-sama, the soldiers are awaiting my commands. What should I tell them?" Enri inquired.

Shirou tapped his face. If he was still in YGGDRASIL and dealing with NPCs than he would order for Enri's army to be integrated with Chaldea's growing military as he wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of spies and betrayal. That changed when he considered the effects of real world. Enri's army was loyal only to her. They might act out on their own without even her knowledge if it meant for the good of their master. There was no way he was going to allow soldiers into his base without him being absolutely sure of their loyalty. He could dedicate manpower and resources to keep a watch over Enri's forces but that was manpower and resources that could be used elsewhere such as growing Chaldea.

"Chaldea has more than enough manpower and resources to secure our own security. I suggest that you have your army to protect Carne. As things currently stand, it is likely more soldiers will be sent to Carne to investigate what happened to Prince Barbos and his army. I think both of us will sleep with ease knowing that Carne is protecting by such a capable army." Shirou replied.

Enri nodded. "I agree. I will tell…" She frowned in confusion. "This is so strange… I didn't even need to give them orders… It is like…"

"That they can read your thoughts?" Shirou spoke the exact words that Enri had about to say. "Tell Nigan to teach you about familiars. He will explain any confusions you have about the phenomena that you just experienced."

"I will do that right away," Enri replied with gratitude at the advice. "Is there anything more that I can do for you, Shirou-sama?"

"No, there is nothing." Shirou shook his head. "There is no need to worry about Carne. Arturia is currently dealing with the situation. You can now rest easy."

"That is good to know," Enri smiled. "…Then please enjoy the rest of your day."

Shirou watched Enri turned around and walk out of the room. It was when he heard the door shut and click behind Enri that he snapped his figure. Several figures materialized him. Each one a Heroic Spirit. Powerful individuals that had become legends with either their own merit or with the help of others to ascend the cycle of life and death to claim a spot in the Throne of Heroes.

"Now…" Shirou addressed the Heroic Spirits. "Let us discuss our plans about the future of Chaldea and what we will do moving forward…"

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	24. The Kingdom's Plotting

**Chapter Twenty-Four "The Kingdom's Plotting"**

 _Dear King Ranpossa III of the Re-Estize Kingdom,_

 _This letter is to inform you that I have defeated the army that you sent to Carne Village. I am certain that you already know this from the few elements of the defeated army that managed to escape the grasps of my forces. I also have captured your eldest son._

 _You will likely no doubt have tried to guess what my goals that I might have. My goal is simple. I want independence from the Re-Estize Kingdom and you recognize our independence. If you do not publicly recognize our independence than I shall be left with no choice but to use military force to protect. Any other demands I have shall only be disclosed if either your Majesty's or Stronoff-dono's presence._

 _Any further attacks on Carne Village by your forces will signal to me that negotiations are not possible and will result in the summary execution of your son. I strongly advise that for your son's survival that you don't try anything stupid._

 _Shirou Emiya, leader of Chaldea_

 _P.S if there you want to know more about me then I would consult Stronoff-dono. He and I have worked closely for several months regarding many mutual goals._

King Ranpossa III let out a tried sigh as he placed the letter that he had read on the desk before him.

"My king, please relax," said Gazef as stood beside his troubled liege, King Ranpossa III. "Your son is safe and will be treated well. Shirou Emiya is honorable and wise. He will do nothing to harm your son as long as you keep your end of the bargain and not order any rescue attempt of your son."

"If you trust this man then I will too," said Ranpossa as he let out a sigh of relief at assurance of his most trusted subordinate. "There is just one problem… I can trust Shirou, but what about his subordinates? The king looked at Gazef warily. "Can you claim that they will not harm my son after he was the one that led an army to invade Carne Village? The same army that had likely hurt and killed many of the Carne villagers?"

Gazef remained silent as he contemplated his liege's question. He was willingly to swear on his life that Shirou could be trusted to honor the terms that he had set out. The same level of trust that he had in the man didn't exactly extent to Shirou's subordinates. Some of Shirou's subordinates included men and women who had tried to kill him and his soldiers. His doubt soon subsided when he remembered how devoted and loyal the same people that tried to kill him were to Shirou Emiya. They seemed less likely, if not incredible insulted that they would do anything to insult the reputation of their master.

"I believe that Shirou's subordinates will not do anything to your son." Gazef nodded.

"That is indeed the good news that I was waiting for." Ranpossa happily smiled. "Now that we are alone we can talk what others might say or hear." The king looked Gazef dead in the eye. "Gazef, how much of the report compiled from the testimonies of the survivors of my son's army do you believe? What part do you think was exaggerating because of fear and delusions?"

"There is no doubt possible that Re-Estize Kingdom's force of fifty thousand was routed by an army of much smaller size. Although, I must agree with you, your Majesty regarding many of the details…" Gazef replied in strong tone. "But…"

"I sense that there is something that you are not telling me," said Ranpossa. "What is it? There is no need to hold back. I always value your advice."

"I…" Gazef sighed as he considered his words. "I think that the situation might be even more serious than we think." Ranpossa gestured at Gazef to continue. "There are many possible methods that our enemy could have employed to explain how such a significant smaller military force was able to defeat our 50,000 soldiers. Better equipment and training. Tactics and strategies. Intelligence on enemy abilities and best using that information. So many possible factors."

"High Humans on the other hand…" Ranpossa added.

Gazef nodded his head. Everything he had listed was something that the Kingdom had always faced against for decades already in the form of the Baharuth Empire. So, it was not something that the Kingdom was not used to facing. High Humans changed everything as they were something that no one had faced in warfare in centuries as High Humans were said to have gone extinct except for the rarely ever used Godkin that the Slane Theocracy protected with everything that they had. The unknown factor that were high humans changed everything as they were so many things that high humans were "supposed" to be capable of and little was known of what they were truly able to do.

"Your Majesty, I know it would seem treasonous to suggest this, but I believe you should treat Shirou Emiya like an equal or superior." Gazef said in a respectful tone.

Normally, Ranpossa would have been highly offended have the insulter punished, but Gazef before he was no ordinary man. Gazef Stronoff was someone who had faithful served him for years well beyond what was expected to him and saved his life multiple times.

"There must be a reason to why you make what would be normally be considered a treasonous suggestion," said Ranpossa. "What is your reasoning?"

"Shirou Emiya is not just a regular High Human," said Gazef. "It seems that you have forgotten your Majesty, but Shirou Emiya is also a Godkin."

King Ranpossa III froze up. He had completely forgotten about that piece of information regarding Shirou Emiya. The king had just assumed that Gazef had overestimated the strength of Shirou Emiya and believed that he was a powerful individual equal if not slightly more superior to Gazef. If Gazef was not joking and it was true that he was dealing with a Godkin. Ranpossa shivered. Godkins were not something that the Slane Theocracy used as propaganda. They were humanity's trump card against the direst of threats. Each one equal to a legendary hero and a one-man army.

"The Slane Theocracy is backing Chaldea…" Ranpossa remarked in disturbed tone.

"Shirou's followers include formers members of the Sunlight Scripture. They also claimed that Shirou Emiya is or was a former member of the Black Scripture. This leads some credence to your theory, your Majesty." Gazef added.

The king let out an exhausted sigh. The situation had become even more perilous with the possible involvement of the Slane Theocracy. If the Baharuth Empire was a neighbouring nation that could defeat the Re-Estize Kingdom, then the Slane Theocracy had the ability to utterly crush his nation if the Slane Theocracy decided. The only reason why his country was still standing was because the Slane Theocracy had shown no interested in his country. If the Slane Theocracy was interested in his country the chances of his country's survival seemed grim.

"Things are looking darker the longer we think about it…" Ranpossa muttered.

"Aye, your Majesty, we face a very daunting task before us," said Gazef in a gloomy tone. "We should first confront a pressing issue about your son..." He then cleared his throat. "I am concerned about what the nobles could do. With Prince Barbos captured, they might try and use this opportunity to eliminate your son with the excuse of mounting a rescue attempt. They want to try and give Shirou a justification to execute Barbos or kill your son under the guise of a rescue operation."

Ranpossa gritted his teeth. Normally, any notion of assassinating him or his family would have thought as something too risky to try as the chances of failure and swift retaliation was more than enough to keep nobility at bay. That was not the situation power was tied elsewhere with the current war against the enemy and newly emerged Chaldea. The nobility knew this and might have gained the courage to carry out Gazef's suggestion.

"Increase the surveillance on the nobility," said Ranpossa.

"Your Majesty that…"

"I know," said Ranpossa as he interrupted Gazef. "Your intelligence network is already stretched thin. Yet, the loss of my son will deal a significant blow to my family's reputation and perceived strength."

"I believe we should bring your daughter into the fold," said Gazef.

Ranpossa nodded. Gazef left the room to fetch his daughter.

\- O -

"Good afternoon father," said Princess Renner in a polite and respectful tone. "Did my eldest brother and his army successful secure Carne Village?"

"Renner," said Ranpossa to his daughter in unusually strict tone that made him seem more like a king than a father. "Drop the act. You already know what has happened to your eldest brother and his army. After all, you now control one of the largest information networks in the Kingdom after you assumed control over the Eight Fingers."

"Father?" Renner gasped as she was stuck before she recomposed herself so quickly that someone might have mistaken her brief shocked expression as figment of their imagination. "What makes you say such outrageous claims? The Eight Fingers have fragmented into smaller and competing organization after Climb and the Blue Roses uncovered actionable intelligence to take down the Eight Fingers."

"As I said before, you can drop the act, Renner. Everyone might think you to be the kind and innocent 'Golden Princess', but I know the true. You are cold and ruthless. Morality doesn't matter to you as long as you achieve your goals," said Ranpossa and the longer that he spoke the more of Renner's grip on her false mask seemed to weaken at what she heard from her father. "I know this because Elizabeth was the very same."

Renner's mask completely shattered after her mother was mentioned. What her father was telling her was something that no one had ever told her about. Everyone else seemed to think that her false persona, the famous "Golden Princess" who was kind and innocent was her true self. Traits associated with her mother. To hear that her ruthlessness and cold nature hadn't been unique to herself but also had been her mother's true nature shocked her to the core. She had mixed emotions; relief at knowing that she wasn't alone in her circumstance and shock that everything she had known about her mother might not be true.

"I will drop the act, father, as there is no point continuing the charade when you know of my true nature," said Renner as she dropped the Golden Princess persona and acted in her true self. "What is the point of this meeting? You had pretended for years to be deceived like everyone else by my fake persona when you knew what my true nature was. There must be reason that pretending to be fooled by my deception."

"You are correct, daughter." Ranpossa nodded. "The Re-Estize Kingdom is facing an existential crisis."

"Existential threat?" Renner repeated. "I find that hard to believe. While the defeat of fifty thousand soldiers against a force of five thousand seemed unbelievable that is only at first glance. Most of our soldiers were conscripts. Conscripts are poorly trained and equipped with a tendency to easily become scared to break rank and not obey commands under battlefield conditions. It is not unfathomable to see a highly trained, equipped and professional army defeating our army. Our defeat is also not unprecedented. History is littered with many similar cases of miracles."

"You would normally be correct with assessment, but there is information, but no one save for myself, Gazef and the select members of the Royal Guards know. What I am about to tell you must remain a secret. This information is why I believe our kingdom is facing an existential crisis." Ranpossa gestured to his daughter to come closer and Renner complied until she was arm's length from her father. "Shirou Emiya is a Godkin."

Renner stared at her father incredulously. She didn't believe what she had heard. By how serious that her father looked and his tone, it seemed that he wasn't joking, but she found it hard to believe. Godkins were something of legends and the claims that the Slane Theocracy made that they had entire bloodlines dating back to their deities, the Six Great Gods, was something that Renner had treated as propaganda. She absolutely refused to believe that Godkins were real. It just sounded… No, the way how serious that her father was treating the matter made it very, very unlikely that her father was joking.

 _If Shirou Emiya is a Godkin, it might explain so many mysterious surrounding him that I have…_ Renner noted as her mind began to find answers to many questions she had surrounding Shirou Emiya with the knowledge that he was a Godkin. "Assuming that this is the truth then as you say father, this changes everything." She felt a shiver ran down her spine as she realized that she also possibly knew information that her father didn't know. "Father… I was able to take over the Eight Fingers because of Shirou Emiya…"

"What…?!" Ranpossa coughed. "Can you please repeat that again?"

"Shirou Emiya helped me take over the Eight Fingers," said Renner as she gritted her teeth. "I am the one that he put in charge after purging those criminals that refused to work under my command. It is unknown how much of the Eight Fingers is truly loyal to me and not to Shirou Emiya…"

Ranpossa cringed at the new development. It was even more worse than he had thought. He was dealing with an increasingly more dangerous and unknown threat that was Shirou Emiya. How much more Shirou had hiding made Ranpossa nervous and felt an onset of a severe headache. He had been called upon his daughter and hoping that she might have been able to help him. It seemed that he might have been to hopeful.

"Wonderful… Just great…" Ranpossa groaned. "Is there anything more you wish to tell me about Shirou Emiya?"

"What I have just disclosed is the only thing I believe that you don't know about Shirou Emiya," said Renner. "You probably know more than I. If you wish for my aid, please tell me if there is anything else that you wish to reveal."

"There is nothing more to reveal," Ranpossa replied as he shook his head. "We face two confirmed threats. The Baharuth Empire and Chaldea led by Shirou Emiya. A potential enemy in the form of the Slane Theocracy given Shirou Emiya's status as a Godkin and former member of the Black Scripture…"

"We are indeed facing an existential crisis," said Renner as she finally understood what her father had meant earlier after what he had revealed to her. "If you are bringing me into the fold to deal with this crisis than I want something in return."

"Here when I had hoped that you would me without any expectations of rewards," Ranpossa sighed. "Tell me what your conditions are."

"I want to be crowned as your heir. Crown Princess." Renner replied bluntly.

Ranpossa resisted the urge to refuse outright. While it was normally tradition for the son to become heir then going down by age, history was littered with female rulers that were just as successful and capable as male ones. Now that he carefully considered his daughter, she seemed like a better choice than either of two sons. Renner had accomplished much more than his sons with her proposed reforms that he had implemented and the fact that she had been able to take over (take down by official sources) the Eight Fingers, the shadow society that said to control the Re-Estize Kingdom from the shadows. If he was to abdicate or to die his kingdom was in safer hands as Renner as a ruler than any of his two sons.

"Do you truly love Climb or is that another deception of yours?" Ranpossa asked.

"I truly love Climb, father," said Renner as a very creepy and disturbing smile formed. "He is the only thing that I care for and I will do anything to keep him."

Gazef became very uncomfortable with the sight of Renner that she had hidden from everyone. It disturbed him that the "Golden Princess" was all a facade. The kind and innocent princess that everyone thought who she was for was just a mask to hide the cold and ruthless woman underneath. He was creeped out even more knowing what his intelligent network and the king had told him about the true nature of Renner.

"What led you to falling in love with Climb?" Ranpossa asked in a fatherly tone, abandoning the authoritative persona as king.

Renner scowled in response. "Why are you showing concern for me _now_ father? Not the years ago when I needed it!" She snapped and glared murderously at him. "I was the daughter. The one that was to be married off to secure a better future for the Kingdom. Someone that was not worth much of your attention as you had two sons to care and nurture."

 _It seems you were right, Elizabeth… I should have taken your words to heart… It seems the exact same thing had happened to our child. She didn't grow up with the friendly and welcoming environment that she needed. As a result, she has become this cold and ruthless child._ Ranpossa apologized to his dead wife. "I am sorry for leaving all alone, but…"

The king fell silent when he saw something that he couldn't believe. His daughter was hardly older than fifteen years, but she seemed to swallow her anger and quickly recompose herself with a polite smile. His daughter's ability to control her emotions and recover so quickly shocked him. A reminder how much he had missed of his daughter's childhood and how fast she had grown up.

"Excuse me for the outburst," said Renner in a polite tone as she bowed.

When Renner's head rose up again, Ranpossa shivered as he saw a look that he hadn't seen since his dead wife had died giving birth to Renner. He saw the polite smile and glittering eyes that his wife had when she promised vengeance. Vengeance that often humiliating and terrifying.

"Renner," said Ranpossa in uncomfortable tone, "please don't get your revenge in a public manner that will embarrass or undermine me. The last thing that our kingdom needs is to be distracted by a scandal or question either my authority and that of our family. We are after all facing a war. If you want your revenge, please make sure it is done behind closed doors."

Renner looked in surprise at her father. She was amazed that her father had been able to read her intent. No one so far in her life had been able to read her thoughts and intentions when she smiled politely like that. It was a shock to see that there was someone that could read her and predict what she was planning.

 _So, the stories about my father's shrewdness and sharp mind during his prime were not just 'stories. Age dulling his mind being the likely explanation that he no longer lives up to the stories of his prime._ Renner concluded. "What do you mean, Father?" She asked with friendly smile. "I would never think of doing such a thing."

"I might no longer be sharp as my younger self," said Ranpossa, "but I know that look when I see it. It was the same look your mother had when she promised vengeance on me. Something that would have caused countless scandals if your mother hadn't taken her revenge behind closed doors or covered it up."

The princess blinked. It wasn't because her intentions had been discovered. The news of hearing more about her mother was what surprised her. She hadn't been expecting to her about her mother in the present situation. She snapped her out of her musing when Gazef spoke up.

"Climb would certainly make a good choice as your consort, Princess," said Gazef as he snapped the two royalties out of conversation and attempted to get them refocused because they had gathered. "He is both a great fighter and capable leader as shown by his recent success and growth. The only problem people may have been that he is that commoner and therefore unfit to become the consort of a princess."

Renner glared at Gazef for ruining the first conversation that she was having with her father as family for the first time in a long while. She knew intellectually that it wasn't a type to be having a conversation like daughter and father, but how could anyone blame her. The princess had envied her brothers for having so many similar opportunities while she had been robbed of them as her father was either busy spending time with her brothers or managing the kingdom. She wondered what sort of revenge she might organize against Gazef.

"Renner, I promise you that I will give you all the time in the world after dealing with war," said Ranpossa in a reassuring tone to his daughter. "In fact, I will have to after I make you Crown princess. I must after all, oversee the smooth transition of power and advice you as the former ruler."

For a moment, Renner felt as if she was a young girl again. That she was finally getting the undivided attention of her father. It was something that she had always wanted. She wanted to bask in her father's care just a bit longer when she closed her eyes and sighed. She was not a young girl anymore nor was the present situation a time where she could waste her father's precious time as he tried to organize his forces to fight off not only the Baharuth Empire and Chaldea.

 _Time to get back to business_ , Renner turned to Ranpossa. "Father, I several suggestions that will prove controversial but may aid us greatly in this war."

"Let us hear it then," said Ranpossa as he waved his hand. "Any idea from you tends have some merit."

"I believe we should seek the aid of adventurers, but of course we cannot hire them. To do so would be breaking international treaties regarding the neutrality of adventurers from national affairs. We cannot afford to give our enemies excuses to isolate us from potential allies. There is one method that will get around this issue. We can offer the adventurer the status of nobility for their aid. Doing so will get around the issue of adventurer's neutrality in state affairs as they had officially become part of the Kingdom and given up their status as adventurers." Renner explained.

"I see," said Gazef as he caught onto Renner's point. "This will definitely work, your Majesty. The promise of nobility will both attract the aid of adventurers while skirting around the international treaties regarding the neutrality of adventurer but binding them to the Kingdom's service as nobles."

"I can ill-afford to alienate my current supporters, but we also desperately need whatever aid we can get…" Ranpossa mused. "Yes, I think this is the best option." He nodded. "There is no way that I will grant the title of nobility to adventurers if I don't do so to my most loyal vassal."

"Your Majesty… You are not suggesting…?" Gazef stumbled back slightly as he was caught by surprise of the new development.

"Come," said Ranpossa as he gestured to his personal bodyguard. "I have made my mind and I will not change it. It is certainly radical idea, but my kingdom will likely cease to exist if we continue as we are currently. Radical change and reform might be the only way of surviving through this existential crisis."

Gazef was ensure about what to do. He was honored that his liege wanted to reward him for his service. Yet, there was no need for a reward. He was more than content with words of appreciation over any actual reward. With a thankful look, Gazef had been about to speak when he was beaten to the punch.

"Gazef-sama, I implore to accept," said Renner. "Not for yourself, but what this act will symbolize how serious my father is about the offer to provide nobility to the adventurers for service to the kingdom. People work their hardest when they know that they will be rewarded for work. By accepting my father's offer of nobility, it will send a message to every commoner of the Re-Estize Kingdom. You can join the ranks of nobility for your service to the throne. This will likely invigorate the commoners to fight not just because of their ruling nobility, but they have the ability to join the powerful elite that had once been closed to them."

"Can his Majesty even do that? I don't think royalty has such power?" Gazef asked with a frown.

"Gazef-sama, how else do you think our kingdom and any other came about?" Renner asked rhetorically. "My ancestor, King Ranpossa the First founded this very kingdom and rewarded his supporters with titles and land. These rewarded supporters' descendants would become the nobility of today."

"I never thought about that before…" Gazef replied as he shrugged. "If accepting a noble title will truly help his Majesty and the Kingdom as you say than I have no excuse to refuse."

"Then kneel before me," said Ranpossa as he drew his sword. Gazef nodded and complied. He walked over and kneeled with his right leg bent. "I, King Ranpossa III, name you, Lord Royal Protector. Your responsibilities will be the protection of the royal family. To carry out this duty, I invest you with authority to act as my personal agent. Any order that you give in your duties to protect the royal family will be treated as if they were my own orders." The King spoke as he tapped his drawn sword over Gazef's shoulder, first the left shoulder then the right. "Rise Lord Royal Protector. Take this sword of mine as a symbol of the power I have invested in you."

"Thank you, your Majesty," said Gazef gratefully as he took the offered sword. "I shall carry out my new duties at once and I promise to never abuse the new powers that you have invested in me."

"I welcome you, Lord Gazef Stronoff, as the newest addition to the Kingdom's nobility," said Renner as she gave a courtesy bow. "I hope you for the very best and look forward with working with you."

"It would be an honor to work with the Kingdom's most intelligent individual," Gazef replied gratefully.

"Now, let's get on with the reason for this meeting," said Ranpossa. "How shall we deal with this situation besides what we have already discussed?"

"I have many possible solutions," said Renner. Each one more radical than the last and likely to face resistance from the nobility."

"Let's us hear them," Ranpossa replied as he gestured to his daughter to continue.

"We need to reform our military," said Renner. "Do away with conscription to make the bulk of our soldiers. Conscription only weakens us on the long run for we are taking the workers and farmers that create the foundation of our economy away from working."

"I know what you're about to say," said Ranpossa. "That we should implement military reforms the work for our neighbors such as the Slane Theocracy and Baharuth Empire. It has already been suggested multiple times and even implemented, but those attempts have always been stalled and abandoned as a result the nobility's resistance."

"That is why I and the Eight Fingers come in," said Renner with a creepy smile that unnerved Gazef. "My information network and connections surpass even yours father. It will not be a difficult task to blackmail or eliminate any troubling resistance to any reforms that we will need to carry out."

"That plan relies on the assumption that your information network and connections are not compromised with Shirou's followers," Ranpossa warned. "Any implementations of reforms must happen with the thorough purging of any Shirou's follower amongst the Eight Fingers."

"I know father," Renner huffed indignantly. "I have already purged the Eight Fingers multiple times and I will continue to do so at a regular basis."

"Ahem," Gazef as he coughed to break the two royalties' conversation. "Let's us please continue with the original topic at hand…"

"As mentioned before, conscription should be eliminated," said Renner. "Conscripts make poor soldiers as they have poor morale and prone breaking rank or disobeying commands."

"I agree with that assessment," Gazef nodded. "The conscription as practiced by our kingdom is unreliable as our conscripts are not given proper training and equipment. We either need to adopt conscription standards and practices like those of the Roble Holy Kingdom or think of something else to increase our military strength."

Gazef and Renner turned to Ranpossa.

"How good are the Roble's conscripts that you are asking that we adopt their conscription standards and practices?" Ranpossa asked.

"The Roble Holy Kingdom's conscripts each are worth three of our conscripts," said Gazef. "Our training and equipping of conscripts are shamefully inadequate compared to them. Yet, they show that conscripts can be a proper fighting force."

"Then I have decided, we are going to reform our conscription method," said Ranpossa. "All future conscripts will receive better training and equipment. Those currently conscripted will be retrained to a higher standard and equipped with better conscription. We cannot afford to give up conscription as numbers alone as often proven in the past instrumental in the Kingdom's military victories."

"I disagree with the usage of conscripts as I find smaller and volunteer military such as used by the Slane Theocracy and Baharuth Empire," said Renner as she shook her head in disapproval. "Well… father, you have made your decision. Let's move on… Where was it…?" Renner ran her hands through her dress' pockets. "Oh, here it is." She soon produced a small and weathered book. "I have been carrying this book with the hope of reforming our military, and now seems like a good time to show them."

Gazef's mouth went slack and his eyes when his eyes read the cover of the book that Renner produced.

"Where did you get this?!" Gazef pointed at the book in Renner's hands. "That book is supposed to be myth! It should exist."

"Oh, it exists," said Renner as she smiled. "I know it exists because it is within my hands. This book is the reason why I was able to assume control of the Eight Fingers. Within its covers were the knowledge that makes it live up to its mythical reputation."

"Pass it here," said Ranpossa as he had out his hand. "I will validate of this is truly the real thing."

"Here you go, father," said Renner as she walked over and handed the book.

Gazef watched as his liege read through the book. He wanted to walk over and read what his liege was doing, but he didn't. It would be incredibly disrespectful to be peering over the shoulder of Ranpossa. Yet, he also wanted. If the book was truly what Gazef had read the book's cover then it was holy grail of warfare. According to myth, it contained all the knowledge that one needed to wage war against all manners of foes; how to win, prevent defeat and so many other things that anyone that fought for a living would want to know.

"This seems like the genuine thing as what surviving parts of this manuscripts we have within the royal treasury matches," said Ranpossa in an amazed tone as he closed the book. "Renner, I don't know where you got this, but we might survive this thanks to this book. Salvation will come because of _The YGGDRASIL Combat Encyclopedia: Party Combat to Guild Wars_ …"

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave your comments and criticism on the reviews. T** **he more detailed the better, will allow me to see my flaws and fix them.**

 **Follow and Favorite. I am encouraged to write by the number of Follows and Favourites so please tag this story!**

 **Oh and check my other fanfics.**

 **Leona-do**


	25. Fate Overlord: YGGDRASIL Online Notice

**Author's Note**

 **Happy New Year! I apologize if you guys were expecting another chapter with this release. This is just a notice to let you guys know that I released a new story based on the basis on Shirou's adventures when YGGDRASIL was still a game and prior to him entering the New World. This will explain many things such as abilities and items that Shirou has access as YGGDRASIL player that he wouldn't have in real life (story real life). I hope you guys enjoy it.**

 **Leona-do**


End file.
